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MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



ISHAM G, HARRIS 

(Late a Senator from Tennessee). 



DELIVERED TN THE 



SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



FIFTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 
Second Session. 



WASHINGTON : 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 



h 



.H311151 



CONTENTS 



Page. 

Proceedings in the Senate 5 

Memorial address by — 

Mr. Bate 14 

Mr. Morrill 29 

Mr. Morgan 33 

Mr. Hoar 36 

Mr. Wai.thali, 39 

Mr. Hawlev 43 

Mr. COCKRELL 44 

Mr. Stewart 49 

Mr. Chilton 51 

Mr. TuRLEY 56 

Speech of Hon. David Turpie, at Memphis, Tenn 61 

Proceedings in the House 71 

Memorial address by — 

Mr. McMiLLiN 73 

Mr. Bland 81 

Mr. Richardson 84 

Mr. Meyer 89 

Mr. McRae 94 

Mr. Benton 96 

Mr. Rhea 103 

Mr. Brownlow 105 

Mr. Clarke 116 

Mr. Sims 118 

Mr. De Armond 1 24 

Mr. Gaines 130 

Mr. Carmack 132 

Mr. Hartman 140 

Mr. SuLZER 142 

Mr. Cox 170 

Mr. King 1 73 

Appendix — 

Memorial ceremonies 148 

3 



Death of Isham G. Harris. 

Proceedings in the Senate. 

July 9, 1897. 

Mr. Bate. Mr. President, it becomes my painful duty this 
morning to announce to the Senate the death of my colleague, 
and as a mark of respect I shall at the proper time make a 
motion for an adjournment, and will at some future time ask 
that a day be set apart specially for tributes to be delivered b>- 
Senators on his life and character. 

A conspicuous figure, Mr. President, and a famihar one, 
identified as an active and influential factor in the history of 
this Chamber and of the country, is no longer one of us. Isham 
Green Harris for more than twenty years sat in this Chamber 
as a Senator from Tennessee, and for the last ten j-ears it has 
been my honor and pleasure to be associated with him as his 
colleague. He died last eveuing at his residence in sight of 
this Capitol at an advanced age; an age, however, which he ever 
kept green and bright and buoyant until prostrated by his 
recent illness. Tennessee and the entire country mourn his 
loss. 

The individual man and his personal characteristics are abun- 
dantly known to Senators who surround me, as they are to 
Tennesseeans and to the general constituency. He closed last 
evening a long career of usefulness to the country, especially to 



6 Life mid Character of Is/iain G. Harris. 

his native State of Tennessee, which honored liini with her 
highest official gifts and in tuni has lx;en honored by him. 

He was a man of ideas, with high qualities of leadership and 
statesmanship, with courage to assert and ability to maintain 
them. His devotion to duty, as he conceived it, and its faith- 
ful and fearless discharge inspired confidence and friendship, 
while it often di.sarmed opposition. The Ijenefit of his rijie 
e.xpericnce and extended information as to the affairs of gov- 
ennnent is lost to us. His familiarity with parliamentary usage 
and his preeminence as a presiding officer make his loss the 
more keenly felt by the Senate. His honest, earnest, and inci- 
sive mode of debate and his ready, emphatic, and accurate 
manner of deciding questions, as presiding officer, will not pass 
away, but will live in the memory of Senators and in the his- 
tory of the countrj'. 

Mr. President, Senator H.vrris belonged to that class of his- 
toric characters in this country known as ' ' war governors. ' ' 
He is the last but one of that class upon either side. North or 
South, who took an active participation and presided over a 
sovereign State during that interstate struggle. 

He was not, becau.se he was governor, an active Cotifederate 
soldier in its stricte.st sense; but all his nature and all his sym- 
pathies were enlisted upon the Confederate side. 

He was the governor of a strong and mighty State which fur- 
nished numbers of troops for the Confederate cause. They 
were organized under his administration. He could not, being 
governor of the State, enter the ranks or be swoni into the 
service by enlistment. He could not take that course, but 
nevertheless he was a live, active, influential factor in all that 
concerned the movement of Tennessee and of the Confederacy 
in that great war. He was present and as voluntary aid took 
part in all our great battles. 



Proceedings in the Senate. 7 

His life has been an eventful one, his history a noted one, 
and it will live after him. I need not speak of him here in this 
Chamber. Those who surround me knew him and understood 
his peculiarities, his personalities. He had them, and he had 
them in a generous way, and he always exercised them with a 
proper feeling and in a generous manner. 

We may forget many things that transpired here, and some 
characters who have gone the way that he has gone; but, Mr. 
President, Senators will not forget the peculiar manner of ex- 
pression that belonged to him, with his clear, straightforward, 
direct, and incisive speech on all occasions, without de\-iation. 
No man ever misunderstood what he meant, and no one will 
forget that peculiar emphasis which was his. Neither will any 
one in this Senate forget that promptness and readiness with 
which he always decided questions when he was in the chair. 
Such was his history here, and it will not only live in our 
memories, but it will belong to the political historj- of this 
country. 

But he is gone. He is no longer one of us. On yesterday 
evening the summons came. The clouds seemed to surround 
him. All his nature, as it were, his past hfe, came before me 
when I understood that he was dying. I remembered him in 
my young manhood when he was first governor of Tennessee. 
I remembered him later on as the Confederate war governor of 
my State, when he heard the first reveille and the last tattoo in 
Confederate camps. I remembered him through the good and 
evil fortune of our Southland, ever \-igilant and ready to further 
the cause he had espoused— and that his cause was my cause— 
and in his dying hour my pulse beat a warm sympathy and my 
heart went out in reverence for the grand old veteran. 

But he is gone. Yesterday evening, a few minutes before 6 
o'clock, the summons came. The shadows of death spread over 



8 Life and Character of Isham G. Harris. 

him as a dark cloiul; the curfew tolled the knell of his departing 
day; the soothing sound of "taps" iu\-ited sleep to the woni 
and wearj' veteran ; he entered his silent tent; he sleeps there 
now on Fame's eternal camping ground. 

Mr. President, I .shall move to adjourn at the proper time, 
but meanwhile I will ask for the consideration of the resolutions 
which I send to the desk to be read. 

The Vice-President. The resolutions submitted by the 
Senator from Tennessee will be read. 

The resolutions were read, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound .sorrow of 
the death of the Hon. Isham G. Harris, late a Senator from 
the State of Tennessee. 

Resolved, That a committee of nine Senators lae appwinted by 
the Vice-President to take order for superintending the funeral 
of Mr. H.\RRis, which shall take place in the Senate Chamber 
at 12 o'clock m. to-morrow, and that the Senate will attend the 
same. 

Resolved, That, as a further remark of resjx;ct entertained by 
the Senate for his memory, his remains Ije removed from Wash- 
ington to Tenne.s.see in charge of the Sergeant-at-Arms, and 
attended by the committee, who shall have full power to carrj- 
this resolution into effect. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these proceed- 
ings to the House of Representatives and in\nte the House of 
Representatives to attend the funeral in the Senate Chamber, 
and to appoint a committee to act with the committee of the 
Senate. 

The re.solutions were considered by unanimous consent, and 
agreed to. 

The \'ice-President appointed as the committee under the 
second resolution, Mr. Bate, Mr. Waltliall, Mr. Berrj-, Mr. 
Turpie. Mr. Allen, Mr. Deboe, Mr. Pettus, Mr. Chilton, and 
Mr. Wetmore. 



Proceedings in the Senate. 9 

Mr. Cockrell submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered hs unanimous consent, and agreed to: 

Resolved, That invitations be extended to the President of the 
United States and the members of his Cabinet, the Chief Justice 
and associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, 
the diplomatic corps (through the Secretary' of State), the 
Major-General commanding the Arm)', and the senior Admiral 
of the Navy to attend the funeral of the Hon. Isham G. Har- 
ris, late a Senator from the State of Tennessee, in the Senate 
Chamber at 12 o'clock meridian to-morrow. 

Mr. Cockrell submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered by unanimous consent, and agreed to: 

Resolved, That the expenses incurred by the select committee 
appointed to take order for the funeral of the late Senator Isham 
G. Harris be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate, 
upon vouchers to be approved by the chairman of said com- 
mittee. 

Mr. Bate. Mr. President, I move, as a further mark of 
respect to the memory of my deceased colleague, that the Sen- 
ate do now adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 12 o'clock 
and 15 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, 
Saturday, July 10, 1897, at 12 o'clock meridian. 



Life and Character of Ishain G. Harris. 



FUNERAL OF SENATOR ISHAM G. HARRIS. 

Jl-XE lO, 1897. 

Rev. Hugh Johnston, D. D., Acting Chaplain of the Senate, 
offered the following prayer: 

Let us pray. Almighty God, Thou rulest the armies of 
heaven and among the children of men, according to Thy good 
plea.sure, and none can stay Thine hand or say to Thee, What 
doest Thou? But though infinitely great. Thou art unspeak- 
ably good. Thou carest for us. We can not weep the tear 
Thou dost not see, or feel the pain Thou dost not know, or 
breathe the prayer Thou dost not hear, for Thy tender mercies 
are over all Thy works. 

We thank Thee for life with all its ble.ssings; for all the gen- 
erations of men who have come and gone, and have sown and 
reaped and made for us such har\-ests of comfort and culture. 
We bless Thee that Thou do.st not confine us to this present 
existence, but that after the training and discipline of life 
Thou dost open to us the gates of a .second life, even the life 
that is immortal. 

We give Thee thanks for the long and valual)le ser\-ice which 
the great statesman who.se name has so suddenly become a mem- 
ory was enabled to render to his country and to his State, for 
his rare qualities of leadership in the councils of the nation, for 
his sturdiness of purpose, and for tho.se tender personal charac- 
teristics which so endeared him to his kindred and friends. We 
beseech Thee to comfort all who mourn. We entreat Thee give 
to his sons a firm trust in Thee and a tranquil submission to Thy 
will. 

And here in this ChamlK-r, where he was so conspicuous a 
personality, the scene of .so many achievements and successes in 
public life, give Thy ser\'ants before Thee to see, give us all to 
see, how Thou dost level to the dust all distinctions of rank and 
station and honor, and that nothing endures but the fine gold of 
true character. 



Proceediugs in the Senate. ii 

Help us, we beseech Thee, to build up manhood iu Christ 
Jesus, to put our trust more firmly in that blessed and only 
Saviour who has died for our sins, who has conquered death, 
who has achieved a victory over the grave, and who opens the 
kingdom of heaven to all believers. To whom, with Thee and 
the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world without end. 
Amen. 

The Vice-President. Seuators, by order of the Senate the 
usual business will be suspended this day to enable the Senate 
to participate in the funeral ceremonies deemed appropriate 
upon the death of Isham G. Harris, late an honored member 
of this bod}- from the State of Tennessee. The reading of the 
Journal will be dispensed with. 

At five minutes past 12 o'clock the members of the House of 
Representatives entered the Senate Chamber. The Chaplain 
of the House was escorted to a seat at the Secretary's desk, 
and the members of the House were shown to the seats on the 
floor provided for them. They were soon followed by members 
of the diplomatic corps, the President and his Cabinet min- 
isters, the committee of arrangements of the two Houses, 
and members of the family of the deceased Senator, who 
were respectively escorted to the seats assigned them on the 
floor. 

The burial ser\-ice of the Methodist Episcopal Church was 
read by Rev. Hugh Johnston, D. D., assisted bj- Rev. J. W. 
Duffey, D. D., of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. 

The benediction was pronounced b}- Rev. H. N. Coudeu, 
Chaplain of the House of Representatives. 

The Vice-President. The funeral ceremonies are now ter- 
minated. The bod}- of our late brother will now be committed 
to the charge of the ofiicers of the Senate and to the committee 
representing the two Houses, to be conveyed to his late home 
in Tennessee, there to be buried among his family and friends. 



12 Life and Character of I sham (i. Harris. 

Mr. Batk. Mr. President, I move that the Senate do now 
adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to; and fat 12 o'clock and 30 minutes 
p. m.) the Senate adjourned until Monday, July 12, 1897, at 12 
o'clock meridian. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES ON THE LATE SENATOR 
HARRIS, 

March 24, 1898. 

Mr. Bate. Mr. President, the hour set apart for the Senatorial 
ceremonies in memory of my late colleague, Senator Harris, 
has arrived, and I offer the resolutions which I send to the desk. 

The Presiding Officer (Mr. Pasco). The resolutions sub- 
mitted by the Senator from Tennessee will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow 
of the death of Hon. Isham G. Harris, late a Senator from 
the State of Tennessee. 

Resolved, That, as a mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased, the business of the Senate be now suspended to enable 
his associates to pay proper tribute of regard to his high char- 
acter and distinguished public services. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions 
to the House of Representatives. 

Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect, the Senate, 
at the conclusion of the.se ceremonies, do adjourn. 

The Presiding Officer. The question is on agreeing to 
the resolutions. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 

13 



14 I -iff and Character of I sham (J. Harris. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Bate. 

Mr. B.\TE. Mr. President, to mv late distinguished coUeaRue 
on this floor all the honors due to the most illustrious citizen 
have been paid by the officials of Tennessee and by the sjxjn- 
taneous affection of the citizens of the State. His body, by 
general and public request, lay in state in the capitol of Ten- 
nessee, escorted and guarded by old ex-Confederate soldiers, 
who stood sentinel around his bier under the two flags — Con- 
federate and Federal. 

The memorial services on a later day at Memphis, the home 
of the late Senator H.\rris, were of that character which attest 
the love and esteem in which he was held by the people of Ten- 
nessee. On that occasion the drapery of woe gave place to the 
beauty of flowers, and the vast auditorium bloomed and blos- 
somed with the festoons of smilax and chrysanthemums, while 
palms of ancient and sacred memory vied with roses in gi\'ing 
grace and beauty to a scene which tore evidence of a purpose 
on the part of the whole comnumity to unite in a grand testi- 
monial to the honored dead. 

Representative men, the rich and the poor, were there, and 
every creed in religion as well as everj- di\-ision in politics 
united in one testimonial to the memor>- of the citizen, the 
"war governor," and statesman who had passed away. Noth- 
ing which affection could suggest or pride projXJse was omitted 
by that community which he had ser\"ed and in which he had 
so long resided. 

The glinnner of the old gray uniform on the Confederate 
veterans on this memorial occasion recalled the glory of the past 
without in the least derogating from the duties of the present. 
He had worn tlial iinif<inu with iKinor in the camp, on ilie 



Address of Mr. Bate of Tennessee. 15 

march, on the battlefield, and it was appropriate that a con- 
spicuous place should be filled by it in the memorial service of 
his past life. The proud emblems of the Federal Union were 
not absent, but floated gracefully along with the modest little 
ensign that bore the cross of St. Andrew, with its stars and bars. 

It was a fit occasion for intertwining the two flags, and it was 
tastefully and gracefully done. Notwithstanding these honors 
so profusely paid by the authorities of Tennessee and of the city 
of Memphis and of all classes of the people, an honored custom 
of this Senate iuvites further posthumous ceremonies within its 
historic walls which have so often reverberated his voice. This 
Chamber for more than twenty years was the theater of his use- 
fulness, the same in which he played that conspicuous part in 
the public history which will be forever associated with his 
memory. It is appropriate that here, then, in this Chamber 
ofiicial recognition of his prominent services to the Union and to 
the State should have voice and recognition. 

I ask the attention of Senators while I briefly relate the story 
of a man — their fellow — who is gone. 

Mr. President, Isham Green Harris was born in Franklin 
County, Tenn., on the loth of February, 1818, and died in this 
city on the 8th of July, 1897, having attained the ripe age of 80 
years, fulfilling the words of the psalmist that ' ' the days of our 
years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength 
they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; 
for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." 

Little did the neighbors and friends of the Harris family, who 
lived in an unostentatious but independent way among the plain 
and patriotic people of Franklin County, Tenn., dream that on 
the loth of February, 18 18, there was bom in their midst a 
child who was destined to be a leading factor in stirring events 
that were to come to our country's history — one who was to 



i6 Life and Character of Isham C. Harris. 

organize troops to fight great battles — was three times to occupy 
the executive chair of our great State and sit twenty years in 
the chief council chamber of our great country as one of its 
advisers and leaders. There was no special announcement of 
his birth by the parents or any sjjecial recognition of it gi%'en by 
the neighbors or the church. It nevertheless was one that hxs 
gone into hi.story and will live beyond the present generation 
into the far future. 

Isham and Lucy Harris, the father and mother of this the 
youngest of nine children, were North Carolinians and of Revo- 
lutionary stock. Isham's grandfather was an officer in the 
Revolutionary war. The father and mother, leaving the Old 
North State, seeking fresher fields in which to better their for- 
tunes, journeyed westward over the mountains and settled where 
the waters of Elk River flow through a beautiful valley over- 
looked by the western range of the Cumberland Mountains. 
It was here, on a farm in Franklin County, Tenn., that tliese 
pioneer parents in a plain and frugal way reared and educated 
their children. 

The log-house home and country schoolhouse were familiar 
features in that day, and to-day Tennessee jwints to them, 
through the brightest pages of her history, with greater pride 
than can any king point to his palace or any scholar to his uni- 
versity alma mater, for these unpretending homes and schools 
were the sources of that great intellectual, moral, and political 
strength that made heroes and statesmen of her sons and gave 
an unsurpassed charm to her womatihood. 

But this monotonous and narrow sphere of social and busi- 
ness life, though with many attractions, was too circumscrilied 
for young ambition to vault itself, and the subject of this trib- 
ute, at the early age of 14, with only a country-.school education, 
full of manhood and .self-relianct, with a heart throbbing with 



Address of Mr. Bale of Tennessee. 17 

courageous impulses and a brain restless and full of resources — 
this boy-man, Isham Green Harris, with the consent and 
blessing of his father, for whom he was named, launched his 
little lifeboat, freighted with his hopes and fortune, on the 
uncertain sea of the future. 

Leaving home at this unripe age, he went west to Paris, 
Henry County, Tenn. , which became his future home. By way of 
being independent of the assistance of friends, he hired himself 
as a merchant's clerk , beginning at the bottom with a small salary. 
By strict attention to business, performing every duty with alac- 
rity and guided by that conspicuous executive abilitj' that char- 
acterized all his life, he soon found himself at the head of an 
establishment of his own and conducted it with eminent success. 

After having undergone varied fortune in the commercial line, 
meantime having matured into manhood, he entered upon the 
profession of the law, and soon showed his aptness in and his 
adaptability to his profession. But while he was successful in 
securing a clientage and was strict in attention to the business 
intrusted to him, he was dreaming of the future, and saw, as in 
an apocalj'ptic vi.sion, another field of ser\nce in which distinction 
united with destiny. 

His taste and capacity fitted him preeminently for this new 
field, and his natural political sagacity and patriotic fervor beck- 
oned him on. The gate opened its portals, and ambition, as a 
seductive siren, drew him in her charmed circle of delirium as 
naturally as iron filings are drawn to loadstone. Henceforth 
the political field was to him most congenial, and it became the 
arena in which was performed the life drama of Isham Green 
Harris. Six years of successful practice of law brought unto 
him not onh- a handsome income but established for him a 
reputation as a lawj^er, and more especially as an advocate. 
This threw him actively into the political world, and in 1847 
S. Doc. 343 2 



l8 Life and L'liaractcr o/ hitaiii G. Harris. 

he was honored with a seat in the senatorial brancli of the 
Tennessee legislature. 

There his aptitude for successful management in political 
matters entitled him to leadership, which brought him so con- 
spicuously l)efore the public as a Democrat that in 1848 he was 
selected as the Democratic elector for the Ninth Congressional 
district, to be followed in 1849 by his election from that district 
to the United States House of Representatives. After serving 
that district through two successive Congresses, and being re- 
nominated the third time, he declined to accept the nomination 
and moved to Memphis, where he was recognized as a lawyer 
and advocate of ability, and as such took high rank at that bar, 
then, as now, di.stinguished for the ability of its memlxrrs. 

But jxjlitical preferment and leadership being his ruling pas- 
sion, and politics lx;ing the natural field for the exerci.se of his 
fine powers, he again, in 1856, came to the front as elector at 
large for the Democratic party. Those who recall that exciting 
political campaign and the issues involved, and remember that 
his immediate opponent was the able and distinguished Go\-- 
emor Neil S. Brown, a foeman worthy of any man's steel, will 
recognize it as a gladiatorial contest between evenly matched 
knights, and which attracted the attention of the whole State. 

His speeches on the hustings were plain, clear, and cogent, 
severely without ornament, and no strain at eloquence or dis- 
play, but always sensible, strong, attractive, and .sometimes 
dramatic. In deliverj- he was earnest and forcible, and alike 
emphatic in expression and gesture. Indeed, this grew ujKin 
him with age until the emphatic seemed the dogmatic. In 
speaking he always had a definite point to drive to, and he let 
you know what it was, and generally got there in good time 
and in good order. 

With the triiunpli of his party in that campaign, Teinies-see 



Address of Mr. Bate of Tennessee. 19 

took rank among Democratic States, and his rich reward was a 
nomination and election, in 1857, 'is governor of the State. In 
this, his first canvass for governor, he had for his opponent 
Hon. Robert Hatton, the nominee of the opposing party, who 
was young, active, and talented, and it being the custom of 
Tennessee to have joint discussions between opposing party 
candidates, they canvassed the State together. Harris was 
elected. He was renominated in 1859, with John Netherland, 
a bright, talented man and famous stump orator, as his opponent. 
Harris was again elected. 

His third election as governor was in August, 1861, after the 
State had united her fortunes with the Southern States and 
war was flagrant. Under the con.stitution of Tennes.see the 
governor is elected for a term of two years, and remains in 
office until his successor is inaugurated, and this inauguration 
is required to be at the capitol and in the presence of the legis- 
lature. At the expiration of Harris's third term the capitol 
was within the Federal lines — hence there could be no inaugu- 
ration, and Harris held over to the end of the war. 

These renominations and successful canvasses show the hold 
he had gained and retained in the confidence and affection of 
the people of the whole State. His three canvasses for gover- 
nor, together with performing the duties of the office, brought 
out those remarkable traits of character which made him con- 
spicuous among the leaders of his party. He had by nature fine 
executive ability, which was strengthened by culture and habit. 
This executive quality was aided by an unflagging energy, 
which in turn was driven by a force of will that often overcame 
obstacles that were hard to remove. 

Along with those, he had another gift or qualitj' that was 
in evidence all along his line of life, and which contributed 
largely to his success. It is a species of diplomacy called in 



20 Life and Character of Isltam G. //arris. 

common parlance "tact;" that is, he instinctively knew better 
when and how to accomplish an object than other men. T'nis 
was to a great extent the result of his thorough and accurate 
knowledge of human nature. His great lever power, how- 
ever, that sustained him in seeking official preferment and 
maintaining himself was his Jeffersonian faith in the people — 
faith in their doing right when the right is understood by 
them — and his undeviating adherence to what he lielieved to 
be their rights and interests. 

Governor Harris belonged to the strict-construction school 
of politics. That school of construction was originated by 
Jefferson and Madison as a counterpoise to the growing tend- 
ency of Federal consolidation and as a force to bring back 
the Government from the centralization of the alien and 
sedition acts to the original object of its creation, the Federal 
agent of the sovereign States that created it. 

It was afterwards ilhustrated by the genius of Calhoun and 
adorned with the abilities and virtues of Southern statesmen, 
and for many years had a grasp upon the people of tlie South 
which only the mailed hand of fratricidal war could tear away. 

To that school of construction Govemor H.xrris con- 
scientiously attached himself. 

Whatever others may think of that theory- of our Govern- 
ment, to IsH.\M G. H.\RRis it was the gospel of his politics, 
the creed that formulated his political convictions, and to it 
he was as true as the needle to the pole. 

State sovereignty and its resultant, the right of secession, 
were with him conscientious convictions, as sacred and bind- 
ing as his belief in human existence. As govemor it was 
his duty to take care that the State suffer no detriment, and 
to that end, when trouble and danger were in sight, he sum- 
moned the legislature in extra session, that a convention of 



Address of Mr. Bate of Tennessee. 21 

the people of the State might take such action as their wisdom 
should dictate. It would serve no good purpose to review in 
this place the able messages in which he discussed the public 
conditions, the attitude of sections, and the ultimate purposes 
of pohtical parties. 

It is sufficient to say that he was no fanatic, but a calm, reso- 
lute, earnest, and honest man in a place of great responsibility; 
and with the courage of his convictions he met the public con- 
ditions by which his State was menaced with the onlj- remedy 
that was provided in the theory- of Federal Union as he under- 
stood that theors'. Yea, many will sa}' he and those of us who 
sustained him were wrong; but there can be none who knew 
him as I and those who stood by him in that great crisis did 
who can truthfully assert that he was not honest in his convic- 
tions and earnest in his work. 

In the days of 1861 public events shaped themselves with a 
rapidity and suddenness which it is difficult to comprehend now, 
and not edifj^ing to review on this floor. There is one incident, 
however, that occurred at this juncture between the governor 
of Tennessee and the President of the United States that can 
not with propriety be omitted in giving the leading features of 
Governor Harris's life. 

Excitement for weeks over the whole country had been 
intense, and culminated in the fall of Fort Sumter, v.-hereupon 
President Lincoln called for 75,000 troops to coerce the seceded 
States, and in the call designated two regiments to come from 
Tennessee, and asked Governor Harris to furnish them. The 
reply was promptly returned by the governor of Tennessee to 
the President in the following words: 

Tennessee will not furnish a single man for the purpose of 
coercion, but 50,000, if nece.ssary, for the defense of our rights 
and those of our Southern brethren. 



22 Life and Characttr of hluim G. Harris. 

There are many personal and official incidents coiuiected with 
Governor Harris that would \yt interesting to know, Init I for- 
bear giving them, except the following one, illustrative of his 
high appreciation of the duty of an official in caring for the 
public interest intrusted to him: There was a large sum of 
money, nearly a million dollars in gold, in the custody of the 
State, known as "the school fund," when, on the approach of 
tlie Federal Anuy to the capitol of Tennessee, Governor Har- 
ris had this fund, among other effects of the State, sent south. 
He regarded it as a sacred fund, and on no account would per- 
mit it to be used. Under his orders it was moved from place to 
place as military lines shifted, and kept secure. When war 
scenes were dissohnng and he going into exile, he directed its 
hone.st keepers to return it to the State authorities, which was 
done without the loss of a dollar. 

It is my purpose only to present Governor Harris in his 
true character, that of a resolute, firm man, discharging everj' 
duty from a high sense of responsibility to the State and her 
people, indifTereut to ever>' personal con.sequence and solicitous 
only for the safety of the State and the protection of her jxiople. 
To that end, when all hopes of continued peace \anished lx;fore 
the President's call for troops to invade the Southern States, 
Governor Harris bent every energy of his character and ex- 
erted every resource of the State to the organization and equip- 
ment of her volunteers; and so well did he work in those 
precarious days that by July, iS6i, he had organized and 
equipped thou.sands of troops, turning them over to the Con- 
federate authorities. 

He relaxed no effort in the defense of the State, but with 
untiring energy continued his efforts to place the State in a 
condition to Ix; defended by her own people as well as by the 
armies of the Confederate States. His example as governor 



Address of Mr. Bate of Tennessee. 23 

was inspiring to all the people, infusing energy everj-where and 
bringing order out of confusion, until under his administration, 
which was during the entire war, over 100,000 Tennessee sol- 
diers, as gallant and patriotic troops as ever mustered under 
battle flag, had enlisted and had been as well equipped as could 
be under the existing conditious and completely organized in 
the armies of the Confederate States, and thus he earned the 
well merited, and to him the most highly prized, sobriquet of 
the "War Governor of Teiniessee." 

When driven by the events of the war from the State and it 
was no longer possible for him to discharge the duties of the 
exalted ofiSce, he rested not, nor sought eas}- berth, but imme- 
diately entered the field on the staff of Gen. Albert Sidney 
Johnston, and was with him on the field of Shiloh and person- 
ally assisted that great chieftain at the time he received his death 
shot. 

With the Arm}- of Tennessee, under all its commanders, he 
ser\^ed through all the years of the war, exerting every effort to 
mitigate the hard-ships of the soldiers, to supply the necessities of 
their daily life, and sharing with them the sunshine and the storm, 
the heat and the cold, the joy of victory and the sting of defeat. 

Though not technically in the Confederate army, for he 
could not be, as he was governor of Teinie.ssee, but he was in 
fact its inseparable companion from beginning to end, and heard 
its first reveille and its last tattoo. He was emphatically the 
friend of the soldiers, and omitted nothing that could contribute 
to their comfort or increase their efficiency. After the war, 
with all its disappointments, lo.sses. and di.stress, the people of 
Tennessee still treasure in their hearts the sacred memory of 
their heroic soldiers. 

When all the blandishments of life are gone, 
* * * the brave live on. 



24 Life and Cliaraclcr of Isham G. Harris. 

All else seemed gone, under the inscrutable wisdom of an all- 
wise Providence, but the manliood of those four years. In all 
the noblest acceptation of that word, it is a precious heirloom to 
Confederates, to be transmitted from sire to son. Of tliat man- 
hood Governor Harris was a living example, in its administra- 
tive feature, in its brave devotion to duty, in its un.selfish atten- 
tion to the wants of others, and in its bravery and endurance on 
the field of battle, and also in exacting demands in bivouac, 
march, and hospital. 

The history of Isham G. Harris is inseparably connected 
with our war period. He was then in the prime of life and in 
the zenith of his power. He was governor during the entire 
time, from 1861-65, of a sovereign State, mighty in those 
effective elements of war, men and resources. It was an ill- 
starred destiny that came ujwn our country and brought a four- 
years carnival of suffering and death. 

W'liL-n the bloodshot eye of Mars looked down upon the .scene, 
it was "red with unconnnon wrath," and the smile of mercy 
appeased it not. Ours was then a land of armed men, brothers 
fighting each other. Destruction and death was the order of 
the day. Every march was to a battlefield, and ever>" Ixittle- 
field was a graveyard. Defeat of to-day gave earnest of victory 
to-morrow, while N-ictorj' to-morrow meant defeat the next day. 
It was a struggle between giants, as fierce and luirelenting as 
that between Saracen and Crusader over the Holy Sepulcher 
when the battle-ax of Coeur de Lion found its death-producing 
counterpart in the magic blade of Saladin. • 

It was in the.se times that the subject of this trilnite was at 
the helm, steering a mighty State through the crimson tide of 
war. IJut with peace there came not rest to his wear)- spirit. 
The triumph of the I'nion Army admitted of no magnanimity 
for him. Tlie fierce ]>assions of politics interposetl to drive him 



Address of Mr. Bate of Tennessee. 25 

into exile. The trumped-up charge of treason to the State, the 
State he had so courageously defended, was set in motion, and, 
with a reward for his capture, he was driven to seek safetj^ in 
Mexico and there await a returning sense of shame to his per- 
secutors. 

From Mexico to England was for him a change from enforced 
idleness to that business acti\'ity so necessary to his energetic 
and ever-working nature. One year in business in Liverpool 
completed the two and a half years of exile, during which all 
charges were abandoned and rewards withdrawn, and he was 
free to return to the State and people he had ser\-ed so faithfully 
and loved so well. A period of eight years followed with a 
successful practice of the law, during which the clouds of politi- 
cal animosities were being graduallj^ dispelled and the people 
had become free to exercise their right of selecting their Repre- 
sentatives and Senators. 

Governor Harris became a candidate and was elected by the 
legislature to the Senate of the United States, where, from 1877 
to 1S97, ^ period of over twenty years, he was the zealous and 
faithful ambassador of Tennessee to this Amphictyonic Council 
of sovereign States. 

This Senate too well remembers mj- colleague for me to recall 
the weighty words, the impressive manner, the forcefulness in 
colloquy, the readj- retort, the executive abilitj', tact, and discre- 
tion, the parliamentary management, the courtesj' that ever 
characterized him in the chair — for he had been chosen its tem- 
porary presiding officer — the firmness with which he maintained 
his convictions, and the triumph he won. 

His was a green and fresh old age. His eyes were not dim 
and lusterless, nor was his natural force much abated. He was 
never a better or more useful Senator nor more attentive and 
efficient to his duties than in the later years of his life. Age 



26 Life and Cliaractcr of Isham G. Harris. 

sc-etned only to have brought ripened exjjerience with its advan- 
tages which he made available. 

He was generally in his seat and always a watcher, even in 
weary nights when obstructive legislation was rampant. When 
younger men were inattentive and sought sleep, he, regardless 
of age, was awake and vigilant and ready for any turn in the 
game of political diplomacy that was going on, and generally 
took on such occasions a leading and effective part in all discus- 
sions pertaining to the rules of the Senate and parliamentar>' 
proceedings. Indeed he felt, and it came to be so regarded in 
the Senate, that debate on parliamentary proceedings was his 
fight, for he was the admitted authority on parliamentary law in 
the body. 

Mr. President, Governor H.vrris lived in an eventful age. 
No eighty years of human action has brought to light so many 
useful discoveries and such great results. The map of the 
world has been changed during the period of his life. Empires 
have appeared and pas.sed away like bubbles on the surface of 
the lake. 

Continents that were comparatively vacant have become the 
abode of powerful vStates, peopled by intelligent inhabitants 
that enjoy all the advantages of a high ci\nlization. At his 
birth this Republic was all east of the Mississippi; at his death 
the tide of population had crossed the Rocky Mountains and 
built po%verful States and splendid cities on the Pacific. What 
at his birth was the American desert has become the abode of 
freemen, and enterprising communities now cheer the dreary 
wastes. 

No railroad was then found on this continent, nor was it 
traversed by thou.sands of miles in which the traveler scales the 
lofty mountains and passes over the great rivers in splendid 
parlor cars, where his meals are ser\'ed and he reposes on his 



Address of JSI) . Bate of Tennessee. 27 

downy bed while he spins along over wonderful scenery at the 
rate of 40 miles an hour. At his birth no scientist dreamed 
that each day's proceedings would be distributed through the 
world with a speed that far outstrips the earth in her daily 
revolutions around her axis. Yet the lightning has become 
the great agent of humanity to distribute its messages, propel 
its cars, and heat its habitations. The telephone is the faithful 
agent that repeats the human voice scores of miles. 

The year after his birth the first steamship crossed the At- 
lantic. Now every ocean is stirred by the swift messengers of 
nations in peace and war. The world of mind and morals has 
been evolving new theories of thought and new rules of social 
and spiritual life. The activity of human genius has brought 
out new creations in every department of utility. Ancient 
institutions have given place to new and more refined and deli- 
cate ones. 

The wonders of art have outstripped the wildest visions of 
dreaming fancy and given to human achievement boundless 
possibilities, that may co\-er the earth with charities and bless- 
ings that will wipe away all tears and lull into sweet harmony 
the sighs and sorrows of the human race. 

Amid this wonderful impulse of human action this distin- 
guished man has lived and acted and enrolled his name. 

Mr. President, when the end came to those eighty years of 
arduous life, when the golden bowl was broken, and the silver 
cord was loo.sed, and the pitcher broken at the fountain, it covdd 
be truthfully said of my colleague that "he died at his post." 
If not like Chatham falling on the floor of the House of Lords, 
or John Quincy Adams sinking in the House of Representatives, 
yet he succumbed from the exertion and the labor of liis Sena- 
torial duties like the great English leader and the exalted 
American ex-President. 



28 Life and Characlcr of Isham G. Harris. 

The unswerving patriot, Isham G. Hakkis, wliose long life 
had been devoted to his countrj', had striven to the end. and his 
last da>s were his best days. 

He is now in his grave — 

After life's fitful fever he sleeps well. 

Neither the call to the hustings, the concourse of admiring 
friends, the contests in the Senate, nor "the rapture of the 
fight " shall again summon him to duty. His repose is tranquil 
in the sacred precincts of Elmwood, overlooking in its beauty 
and silence the Mississippi as it swells in majestic flow at the 
ba.se of Memphis, the Ix-autiful city of the valley. Peace to his 
ashes. 



Address of Air. Af or rill of I'ermotit. 29 



Address of Mr. Morrill 

Mr. Morrill. Mr. President, generally members of the Sen- 
ate when first elected are no longer young, and their early 
departure to ' ' the silent land ' ' is in accordance with nature. 
Within the past year the decea.se of Senators and ex-Sena- 
tors has been unprecedented. The list of ex-Senators includes 
twelve — Voorhees, McPherson, Doolittle, Cameron, Dolph, Mc- 
Millan, Coke, Dixon, Jones, Robinson, Clingman, and Paddock; 
and the seats here of three Senators were also made vacant, or 
those so recenth' occupied b}' Earle and George and h\ Senator 
Harris, of Tennessee, to whose memory the Senate to-day 
offers its tribute of respect. 

All of these men possessed some characteristic and prominent 
merits which were appreciated by their people at home, as well 
as by their associates here, who knew them at close range. 
McPherson, Voorhees, and H.\rris were all recent members of 
the Committee on Finance, and whatever differences on political 
and economical questions ma}' have existed, the committee, I 
feel authorized to say, were personally all friends, and the 
sur\-ivors are here to-day as mourners. 

Our late and long-time associate. Senator Harris, of Tennes- 
see, was born in the State he represented, where, as it may 
safelj' be assumed, his political influence was probabl}- ne\-er 
surpassed, except by that of General Jackson, who.se wide 
national renown served to gild and expand his local influence 
at home. Nearly fift\' j-ears ago Isham G. Harris ser\-ed in 
the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Congress as a member of the 
House of Representatives, then for six years as governor of 
Tennessee, and during the last three years of the rebellion he 
was a volunteer aid of the "Confederate Army of Tennessee," 



30 Lift' and L 'haractcr of I sham (J. Harris. 

as he preferred to state it liiinself in the CoiiKressional Director>'. 
It may be inferred that as a stanch partisan of the State-rights 
doctrine and a veteran supporter of the Virginia resolutions of 
1798 he rather preferred to be a volunteer aid to the Confeder- 
ate Army of Tennessee than of the army under the direct con- 
trol of Jefferson Davis. 

Not obtrusively aspiring to Ix- a national leader, yet he was 
a leader, and often consulted by his friends and his party. 
While always courageously stiff in his opinions, these were 
usually found to be safely behind the political breastworks of 
the Democratic party. 

Teniics.see was the home of Senator Harris and also of John 
Bell, who in i860 received the vote of Tennessee for the Presi- 
dency as the candidate of the so-called "South American" or 
Union party; but Tennessee would hardly have been induced to 
join the Southern Confederacy in 1861 solely because of the 
Republican election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency but for 
the potential influence of Governor H,\rris. 

Near the close of the reljellion, having l^een a Confederate 
with many conspicuous proofs, he deemed it wise to leave the 
country, lest the exigencies of f)eace might prove more porten- 
tous than those of war, and at once departed for Mexico, taking 
with him for safe-keeping — whatever Parson Brownlow may 
then have erroneou.sly suppo.sed — S6o,ooo belonging to the 
State, but which was safely brought back by him and returned 
to the State treasury. 

After a brief sojourn in Mexico, he went to Great Britain, 
and there finally concluded, after all his recent experience, there 
was no place so dear to him as his old home in Tennessee, and 
to that he returned in 1S67. 

In 1877 Mr. H.\RKis was elected to the I'nited States Senate, 
where he was lox twenty years a very jironiinent and useful 



Address of Mr. Morrill of ]'crmont. 31 

member. As the chairman of the Committee on the District of 
Columbia, its various duties were discharged with abihty and 
with nearly universal approval. He was long a valuable mem- 
ber of the Senate Committee on Finance, always in attendance 
at every meeting of the committee promptly on time, and bills 
submitted to him for examination and report were sure of early 
attention. He rareh' made what are called prepared or set 
speeches; but, as long as health permitted, when the Senate 
was in session, he was here in daily attendance. 

Senator Harris was a radical adherent to his party, and 
when he felt it as his sacred duty to denounce the measures of 
his political opponents, it was apparent from the unction of his 
accentuation and his dramatic gesticulation that he was read}- 
to strike, if not with the sword of the l,ord, certainly with 
nothing less than the sword of Gideon. 

Early becoming familiar with the parliamentary rules of the 
Senate, Senator Harris, as the President pro tempore or when 
invited to the chair by the presiding officer, discharged its 
duties not only with excellent ability and absolute impartiality, 
but with extreme brevity. 

Socially" he was not egotistical, and never by his conversation 
made a darling of himself. Even his age was long kept as a per- 
sonal secret about which the public had no business to inquire. 

For many j^ears, in my absence. Senator Harris was my 
standing pair, and it was very scrupulously obsen-ed. 

He was a frank, outspoken man, and did not hide his opin- 
ions by silence or by a forky tongue. His integrity appeared 
to me absolute and unimpeachable. Here he was respected as 
well as esteemed — certainly he was esteemed bj- me — and had I 
preceded him — 

To the undiscovered country from whose bourne 
No traveler returns — 



32 Life and Character of hha»ti G. Harris. 

as jierhaps from seniority of age might have Ix^eii expected, I 
do not doubt lie would have tendered a just and kind word in 
my behalf. But it was long ago written, "There shall he two 
men in the field ; one shall Ix; taken and one is left." 



Address of Mr. Morgan of Alabama. 33 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Morgan. 

Mr. MoRGAx. Mr. President, I first saw Isham G. Har- 
ris near Nashville, in Tennessee, when he was governor of 
that State and had been driven from his capital by the Federal 
Army under General Buell. He came to the head of a column 
I was leading in a reconnoissance under the orders of General 
Forrest. 

He came as an aid-de-camp of that distinguished officer, bear- 
ing orders for my execution. 

In that brief interview I saw a characteristic display of the 
intrepidity of the man. 

The action was perilous and the governor went into the fight 
with the dash and resolution that plainly revealed his character 
as a soldier who rejoiced on the field of battle. 

This gallant soldier passed out of mj- observation into the 
.high career of splendid service in which he won great distinc- 
tion as the honored adviser of the eminent men who led the 
destiny of the Confederac3^ No true soldier ever failed to 
recognize in him a brother in arms, and a brother in everj' 
emergency. 

When that war had ended, the people of Tennessee conferred 
on him the highest honor in their gift bj' choosing him as a 
Senator of the United States. It was my fortune to meet Mr. 
H.\RRis the second time on the floor of the Senate, as a Senator 
from Alabama, on March 4, 1877, and we took up the grave 
duties of that office on the same Aa.y, he representing my native 
State. 

I had not seeii him since the morning of our brief association 
on the field of battle. 

S. Doc. 343 3 



34 i'if'^ <"'«' Character of I sham G. Harris. 

Henceforth our efiforts were to Ix; devoted to the service of 
the couutry in fields where peace liarvests "her victories more 
renowned than war." 

It is a cause for deep pride to nie that in the twenty years of 
our ser%'ice in the Senate we never differed on any great leading 
question of public ixjlicy that involved a question of the proper 
construction of the Constitution of the United States, for he was 
a true and wise man, whose matured opinions were carefully 
formed and were always presented with the emphasis of pro- 
found conviction and maintained with iniflinching courage. 

No name in the auuals of the South is more honored in the 
esteem of the f)eople tlian that of Isham G. Harris as a states- 
man and wise legislator. His fidelity to everj- public trust 
Ijecame a standard in the minds of the people for the highest 
duty of an American Senator, and in the Senate that standard 
is recognized as being worthy of the best men of the best days 
of the Republic. 

The history of this noble and genuine man can not be stated 
in a single addre.ss, nor, indeed, in any single statement of tongue 
or pen. There are treasured in the hearts of millions of people 
the legends of Ish.vm G. Harris, that are kept fresh and green 
by the pulsations of gratitude. These are often repeated at 
the fireside and to listening groups of children as proofs of the 
qualities that they should prefer to all other attributes or 
accomplishments. 

His life grew to full development in an atmosphere of immacu- 
late honor until it became a noble structure to stand for all time 
as a high model of the typical Southern man. I feel intense 
pride in the privilege of referring to Isham G. H.vrris in this 
splendid attitude in which he is placed by the universal opinion 
of the Southern people. It is descriptive of their sentiments 
on all great questions and of their manner of dealing with 



Address of Mr. Morgan of Alabama. 35 

matters of public concern with honest directness of purpose and 
action. 

It is well for us and for our successors in the Senate that we 
have his record as a guide to correct and just action in the 
great questions that we must deal with in this great Forum. 

In this hour of suspense and anxiety that clothes the whole 
body of the people with a deep .spirit of inquiry as to our duty 
to the honor of the Republic and a deeper resolve to protect 
and defend it to the uttermost, it would give me the most sin- 
cere satisfaction if we could invoke the advantage of his wisdom 
and his true and courageous sense of duty to advise the Senate 
as to its course, now pressing for determination. 

His counsels would not be rash, but they would be just and 
courageous, and his advocacy of a righteous line of action 
would give to our resolution the confidence of worthy motives 
and assured success in a new and delicate line of duty to which 
we are impelled by the claims of humanity upon the heart of 
the great and magnanimous American people. 

I can pronounce no higher eulogium upon the character of 
this great Senator than to voice the wish of the Senate, if it 
could be so, that he could now be with us to advise us with his 
counsels. 

It is in such moments that we miss great leaders and learn to 
value their worth to the country. No question was too high or 
too broad for the grasp of his intellect, and no matter engaged 
the attention of the Senate to which he refused to give his 
attention. 



36 Life and Character of Isliam G. Harris. 



ADDRESS OF MR. HOAR. 

Mr. Hoar. Mr. President, the great career of Senator H.\r- 
Kis is well known to his countrymen. He has been for more 
than a generation a striking and conspicuous figure in our 
public hfe. His colleague, his successor, the men of his own 
political faith, the people of the great State which he ser\'ed 
and honored and loved so long, will, each in their own way, 
portray his character and record their esteem and affection. 

My tribute must be that of a political opponent. So far as I 
have been able to exert any influence upon the history of my 
country during the long conflict now happily past, it has been 
in opposition to him, to the party to which he belonged, to the 
opinions which he lield, I am .sure, quite as zealously and con- 
scientiously as I hold my own. 

We entered the Senate on the same day. He was a South- 
erner, a Democrat, and a Confederate. I was bom and bred in 
New England, a Republican, and an Alx)litionist. W'e rarely 
spoke in the .same debate except on different sides. Yet I have 
no memorj' of him that is not tender and affectionate, and there 
is nothing that I can honestly say of him except words of 
respect and of honor. 

He was a typical Southerner. He had the virtues and the 
foibles that belonged to that character in the generation the last 
of whom are now pa.ssing from the .stage of public action. He 
was a man of very .simple and very high qualities; he was a 
man of absolute frankness in public l)ehavior and in private 
dealing. The thought that was in his heart corresponded abso- 
lutely with the utterance of his lips. He had nothing to con- 
ceal. I was about to say he was a man witliout the gift of 



Address of Mr. Hoar of Massachusetts. 37 

diplomacy; but he was a man with the gift of the highest di- 
plomacy — directness, simplicity, frankness, courage — qualities 
which make always their way to their mark and to their goal 
over all circumlocutions and ambiguities. 

He was a man of brief, clear, and compact speech. He would 
sum up in a few vigorous and ringing sentences the argument 
to which other men would give hours or days. He had an in- 
stinct for the hinge or turning point of a debate. 

He was a man of absolute integrity and steadfastness. What 
he said, that he would do. Where you left him, there, so long 
as he lived, you would find him when you came back. He was 
a man of unflinching courage. He was not afraid of any antag- 
onist, whether in the hall of debate or on the field of battle. 

He was an acknowledged master of parliamentary law, a sys- 
tem upon which not only the convenient procedure of legislative 
bodies largely depends, but which has close relations to constitu- 
tional liberty itself. How often a few simple and clear sentences 
of his have dispersed the clouds and brought order out of con- 
fusion in this Chamber. 

His great legislative experience made him invaluable as a 
sen.-ant of his own State, of the countrj-, and as a councilor to 
his j'ounger associates. 

He was a pleasant nan in private intercourse. He had great 
sense of humor, a gift of portraiture, a good memory. So he 
brought out of the treasure-house of his varied experience abun- 
dant matter for the delight of young and old. There is no man 
left in the Senate who was better companj- in hours of recreation. 

His influence will be felt here for a long time. His striking 
figure will still seem to be hovering about the Senate Chamber, 
still sitting, still deliberating, still debating. 

Mr. President, it is delightful to think how, during the lives of 
the men who took part in the great conflict which preceded and 



38 Li/c and Character of Isham G. Harris. 

followed the civil war and the greater conflict of the war itself, 
the old bitterness and estrangements are all gone. Throughout 
the whole land the word ' ' countryman ' ' has at last become a 
title of endearment. The memory of the leaders of that great 
cotiflict is preser\'ed as tenderly by the men who fought with 
them as by the men who followed them. Massachusetts joins 
with Tennessee in laying a wreath on the tomb of her great 
soldier, her great governor, her great Senator. He was faith- 
ful to truth as he saw it ; to duty as he understood it ; to con- 
stitutional liberty as he conceived it. 

If, as some of us think, he erred, his error was that of a 
brave man ready to give life and health and hope to the unequal 
.struggle. 

To liis loved cause he offered, free from stain. 
Courage and faith; vain faith and courage vain. 

And, Mr. President, when he returned to his allegiance, he 
offered to the serv-ice of his reunited country the same zeal and 
devotion he had given to the Confederacy. There w'as no 
reserved or half-hearted lo\alty. We coitld have counted on 
.his care for the honor and glory of the countrj', on his wise and 
brave counsel, in this hour of anxiety with an unquestioning 
confidence. So Ma.ssachusetts to-day presses the hand of 
Tennessee and mourns with her for her great citizen who has 
departed. 



Address of Mr. Walthall of Mississippi. 39 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Walthall. 

Mr. Walthall. Mr. President, when the people of a Con- 
gressional district, after a public .servant has been tried and 
tested in other positions of responsibility, elect him two terms 
to Congress and offer him a third, it is but a just recognition of 
his fidelity and usefulness by the beneficiaries of his service. 

When later the people of his State, with the record of his 
public service before them, elect him their governor three times 
in succession, these added honors attest their appreciation of 
his growing capacities and prove his increased popularity and 
influence. 

When the representatives of the same people, voicing their 
will, after a great war had intervened and their favorite citizen 
had rendered three j'ears of militarj- ser\-ice in a conspicuous 
position, at a trying time summon him from private life to 
accept the highest trust his State has the power to bestow, 
electing him four times consecutively, twice after he had passed 
the age of 70, to the Senate of the United States, then all has 
been done that the people of a single State can do to honor and 
glorify a public servant, whatever his merit and ability. 

And when the same people who had thus honored him in life 
lament his death as a personal bereavement and a great public 
misfortune alike; when the State clothes herself in mourning 
and throughout all her borders the population, in vast assem- 
blies, in church and court room and in the market place, every- 
where, in public and in private, manifest their devotion and 
their grief; when Congressmen in both Houses and officials in 
all departments of the Government bear witness to his worth; 
when from no quarter of the Union comes a harsh word of criti- 
cism upon any feature of his eventful career — when we have 



40 Life and Character of Is/iani (',. Harris. 

seen all this, we feel that what came after death was but a natu- 
ral sequence and fit complement to all that went lx;fore; but we 
wonder that a long career of active, positive, forceful, uncom- 
promising leadership should be followed by such universal 
tributes of approval and respect. Yet these honors and these 
tributes were bestowed upon the late Senator Harris, living 
and dead, and how well they all were earned is known of all 
men familiar with the history of his life, which has been so 
admirably outlined to-day by the senior Senator from Tennessee, 
for many years his coworker and associate. 

For a young man of limited means and with but a slender edu- 
cational groundwork to fit himself for the practice of a learned 
profession in the inter\-als of the employment by which he earns 
his hving is but the storj' of many a brave-hearted American's 
early life. But when such a man makes his way from the start- 
ing point of a country merchant's store through other places of 
distinction up to the Senate of the United States and promptly 
becomes an acknowledged power here, and for twenty years 
holds high rank among the foremost members of the body, we 
must look el.sewhere than to mere diligence and positive capacity, 
or to .scheming, or to some accident or freak of fortune which 
sometimes thrusts mediocrity into temporary prominence, in 
searching for the .secret of such remarkable success. 

From causes like these men without aptitude or merit may 
occupy high places for a time, but without proven fitness for 
usefulness in some form, turned practically to some valuable 
account in which the public is directly concerned, a public man's 
hold upon the confidence of his own people and that of his asso- 
ciates in ser\nce can never long endure. When it lasts, as the 
late Senator H.vrris's did, through a half century, marked by 
stirring and trying events and the .shifting fortunes of other 
men, and as lime advanced grew firmer and stronger, the secret 



Address of Mr. Walthall of Mississippi. 41 

must be found in some of those rare attributes which in such 
combination and degree are denied to men in general. 

After cordial personal intercourse and intimate party associa- 
tion with him for many years, through which I closely observed 
his dealings with both men and measures, my belief is that force 
and faith were the powers which chiefly contributed to his 
achievements in life. 

Force of intellect, supported by the force of a \-igorous physi- 
cal organism equal to any strain, mapped out his plans and 
purposes with steadiness and continuity; the force of a clear, 
sententious, and incisive style of argument urged them and 
impressed them, and force of character, will power that would 
not be thwarted and could not be subdued, impelled them with 
persistency and power to consummation and conclusion. 

Faith in himself, in his own power and purity of motive, gave 
him strength and independence and made him aggressive, per- 
sistent, and well-nigh irresistible in the pursuit of all his pur- 
poses. He had faith in our form of government, in the perma- 
nence of our institutions, in the masses of the people, and in 
their capacity to govern themselves; faith in his own construc- 
tion of the Federal Constitution, from which he never swen^ed, 
and in his own ideals, which were exalted, of justice and duty, 
of manliness and honor. 

He was faithful to principle and to every trust, however 
great or small; to State, constituents, and friends, and to every 
obligation they imposed upon him. Stern, direct, incorrupti- 
ble, and resolute, he encountered enmities and was sometimes a 
mark for slander; but the charge was never made that he failed 
to keep faith with any one of his fellow-men. 

If, as I believe, the faculties and sentiments I have attributed 
to our late associate belonged to him, we need search no further 
for the secret of his successes and his long career of usefulness 



42 Life and Cluiractcr of /s/iatn G. Harris. 

and honor, for the results were no more than the causes de- 
ser\ed. If they did not, I have misconceived his character, 
although, with excellent opportunities, I have studied his life 
with interest and have much reason to lament his death sin- 
cerelv. 



Address of Air. Hawley of Connecticut. 43 



Address of Mr. Hawley. 

Mr. Hawley. Mr. President, the full and interesting sketches 
of Senator Harris's life and character to which we have lis- 
tened leave me little to say beyond testifying my personal 
regard for him. I congratulate myself that what I had pre- 
viously intended to say coincides so well with the observations 
of the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Hoar] . 

Mr. Harris was a man of strong convictions — frank and 
brave in setting forth and defending them. He was always 
ready for combat, prompt in repartee, skillful in attack and 
defense. He sometimes struck heavily, but never with personal 
malice, and no man remembers him unkindl}'. He was a mas- 
ter of parliamentarj' law, and in his frequent occupancy of the 
chair he knew well how to keep the true question before the 
Senate and how to preserve order. 

He was a gallant and chivalrous man, a foremost champion 
of what he desired to promote. His bearing is well remembered, 
but can not be described. He differed at one time from many 
of us on great issues, but none doubted his sincerity and 
courage. 

In private life he was a cordial, genial, hospitable, and typi- 
cal gentleman of whatever school. 

Tennessee honors herself in honoring his memory. The 
Senate records its affection and respect, and will not forget him. 



44 Z.//f aitil Characler of Isham G. Harris. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. COCKRELL. 

Mr. CocKRELL. Mr. President, Ish.\m Green H.\rris, to 
whose imperishable memory the Senate of the United States 
pays this last memorial tribute, was bom in Franklin County, 
Tenn., on the loth day of February, 1818, lieing the youngest 
of five sons and four daughters born to Isham Harris and his 
wife, Lucy Davidson Harris, and died in this city on the 8th 
day of July, 1897, in the eightieth year of his age. 

He was endowed with a strong, vigorous constitution and a 
clear, active, quickly grasping intellect, and was reared amid 
rural scenes and healthful .surroundings. 

His education was limited, and o\\\y such as a newly settled 
country afforded. He attended Winchester Academy, and at 
the early age of 14 years his untiring energy-, indomitable will, 
independence, and self-reliance carried him away from home to 
engage in the active affairs of life. 

He went to Paris, Tenn., and began his eventful career as a 
clerk in a mercantile establishment, and by his energy, intelli- 
gent devotion to his duties, and strict economy was in a few 
years enabled to engage in business on his own account in Rip- 
ley, Miss., and proved a successful merchant. 

This avocation was not the goal of his aspirations and laud- 
able ambition. While successfully conducting his mercantile 
business he was studj-ing law at night and preparing for a 
broader field of action. Having accumulated sufficient means 
to enable him for a time to devote his whole time to the study 
of his chosen profession, he returned to Paris, Tenn., in 1S41 
and began the practice of his profession in the oflBce of an elder 
brother, an able and learned jurist. He applied himself to the 
study and practice of the law with his characteristic zeal, indus- 



Address of Mr. Cockrell of Missotiri. 45 

trious application and devotion, and quickly acquired a lucrative 
practice and professional reputation which attracted public notice 
seldom attained so early in life in his profession. 

In 1846 he was elected as a Democrat from his senatorial dis- 
trict to the general assembly of his State, and declined a reelec- 
tion. 

In 1848 he was chosen a candidate for Presidential elector in 
his Congressional district, and in the canvass displayed an abil- 
ity for popular debate which secured for him the respect, 
admiration, and confidence of the people, which were never 
betrayed nor shaken in all the long years of his public career. 

In 1849 he was nominated by a Democratic convention as a 
candidate to represent his Congressional district in Congress, 
and was elected by a majority greater than that of his party. 

In 1851 he was renominated and reelected, and in 1853 ^^'^s 
renominated, but declined to accept. 

He then removed to Memphis, Tenn., and resumed the prac- 
tice of law, and at once took rank with the leading lawj'ers 
and secured a lucrative share of the legal business. 

In 1856 he was Presidential elector for the State at large on 
the Democratic ticket. His competitor in this canvass was the 
distinguished Whig, ex-Governor Neil S. Brown, a worthy foe- 
man in public debate. In 1857 he was nominated and elected 
governor of his State; was reelected in 1859, and again in 1861. 

His position in public affairs was never equivocal. As gov- 
ernor of the State and commander in chief of her military forces 
from 1 86 1 to the close of the war, he did all that was in his 
power to secure the success of the Confederacy by organizing 
his State troops, going with them into camp and battle, and 
remained with the army to the close of the war, and ser\'ed on 
the staff of the successi\-e generals commanding the army of 
Tennessee. He was at his post of duty and danger through 



46 Life and Character oj Ishain G. Harris. 

heat and cold, rain and sunshine, in camp and on battlefield, in 
advance and retreat, in \-ictor)- and defeat. 

When the war closed, on account of the sur\-i\nng passions 
and fierce prejudices aroused by the severe conflicts in Tennes- 
see, he went to Mexico and remained there for eighteen months; 
and then went to Liverpool, England, and engaged successfully 
in mercantile business for one year, and then returned to Mem- 
. phis and resumed the practice of law, and closely applied him- 
self for ten years. 

In 1877 he was elected a Senator from the State of Tennessee 
in the Senate of the United States; was reelected in 1883 and in 
i88g, and in 1895 for the term ending March 3, 1901. 

By this brief .sketch of his illustrious life we may profit, as 
well as the young men of this and coming generations of our 
great country, to whom we present him as an example, not to 
deter, but to follow. From his fourteenth year of age to his 
eightieth — sixty-six years — he was in active life; not a drone, 
but emphatically a bu.sj- bee, neither losing nor wasting time. 

In whatever avocation or position he engaged or accepted, he 
was preeminently successful and useful. To the discharge of 
all the duties and obligations of his avocation or position, how- 
ever humble or exalted, he devoted his whole time, energj', 
attention, and abilities closely, industriously, and intelligently. 

He was truly the "architect of his own fortune." His exam- 
ple proves that success can Ije achieved by great labor, and that 
life gives nothing worthy of a noble manhood without such 
labor. As a State senator in the general assembly of his native 
State he was laborious, useful, and ranked among its ablest 
members, and acquitted himself to the entire satisfaction of his 
constituency, and was tendered and declined a renomination. 
As a Representative in the Congress of the United States, 
.ilthough one of its j-oungcst iiieml>ers, he quickly won a high 



Address of Mr. Cockrell of Missouri. 47 

position as a practical legislator, a sound lawyer, and an able 
debater, and so acceptably to his constituency discharged the 
duties that he was renominated and elected and tendered a third 
nomination, which he declined. 

He was three times nominated and elected governor of his 
vState, which fact attests his fidelity and efficiency. As a Sen- 
ator, for punctuality and promptness in his attendance upon the 
sessions of the Senate and the meetings of the many committees 
of which he was a member he had few equals and no superiors. 
From his entrance to the close of his life he was continuously a 
member of the District of Columbia Committee and chairman 
when his party was in control. He was a member of the Com- 
mittee on Finance during the Forty-ninth to the Fifty-fifth 
Congress, and served during the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth 
Congresses on the Committee on Claims, and was most useful 
and laborious. 

He ser\-ed as a member of the Committee on Rules during the 
Forty-eighth to the Fifty-fifth Congress. He was a member of 
many other committees and gave close attention to his duties 
on each. 

When his party was in control he was unanimously chosen 
President pro tempore. As a parliamentarian he had no supe- 
rior in the Senate, and presided with dignity, marked courtesy, 
and unquestioned impartialit}'. 

Of the 76 members of the Senate when he entered upon his 
duties on March 4, 1877, the Forty-fifth Congress, only 6 Sena- 
tors are now members. 

During his entire ser\'ice in this Chamber it was my privilege 
to be on terms of the closest intimacy and warmest friendship 
with him. I respected, honored, and loved him for his noble- 
ness of character, his sound judgment, his wise and judicious 
counsel, and his unquestionable integrity. 



48 Life and Character of Is/iani G. Harris. 

Without any disparagement or reflection upon the vahiable 
ser\-ices of any other members of this Senate, during his long 
service here I can frankly and truthfully say that in my judg- 
ment he had no superior in discharging the \-aried duties, 
responsibilities, and obligation devolving upon Senators. 

Few men in public life have had intrusted to them the duties 
and reponsibilities, the trusts and tlie honors assigned to him by 
the good people of his State. At all times and under all cir- 
cumstances he fully met the expectations of his constituents, 
and to the last enjoyed their respect, confidence, and admira- 
tion. 

In this Chamber we have lost an able, earnest, efficient, incor- 
ruptible, and wise Senator. Full of years, full of honors, he 
has gone, to return no more, leaving to his family, his State, 
and his country a character, a record, an example worthy of the 
emulation of all. 



Address of Mr. Steivart of Nevada. 49 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Stewart, 

Mr. Stewart. Mr. President, the character and career of 
Senator H.vrris inspire the strongest faith that can possibly be 
afforded in the perpetuity of our institutions. Rising, as he 
did, from the ranks of the people by his own unaided exertions, 
and accomplishing the great results which he did during a long 
and eventful life, he presents to all young men the great possi- 
bilities for advancement which exist in this free country. In 
no other country on this globe and in no other age could such 
a career Ije possible. 

When we behold the great and good men which this country 
has produced and continues to produce, when we find men on 
all occasions equal to the great emergencies which are presented, 
no matter how overwhelming they may appear, we feel more 
and more confidence in the future of our country, for we know 
that these examples will inspire those who come after us as the 
examples of the great men who have preceded us have inspired 
this generation. 

Senator Harris was a remarkable man. He had a .grasp of 
intellect which condensed volumes into sentences. He had a 
fidelity to truth which never allowed him to swerve or go back 
from it. He remained throughout his long and illustrious life 
in touch with the people amongst whom he had lived and with 
whom he had alwaj's the warmest S3-mpathy. It was manifest 
to those who associated with him that in all he did his inspira- 
tion was a desire to benefit and ser\'e the people of the United 
States. 

It is not -Strange that such a sentiment on his part was appre- 
ciated by the people of his State and all who had the honor of 
knowing him. That, sir, was the secret of the confidence which 
S. Doc. ;^43 4 



5© Life and Chnraclrr of Ishatn (',. Harris. 

was reix)scd in him. His confidence in and his rehance on the 
people inspired them with confidence in return, and so they 
trusted and honored him. He lias furnished an example which 
gladdens the hearts of all who love their countrj- and who desire 
to improve the condition of the people. 



Address of Mr. Chilton of Texas. 51 



Address of Mr. Chilton. 

Mr. Chilton. Mr. President, while I did not know Senator 
H.\RRis with the intimacy of long personal association, I have 
since a boy been familiar with his writings, speeches, and pub- 
lic conduct. 

The State in which I live has been supplied abundantlj- from 
the great State of Tennessee. Many of our best citizens emi- 
grated to Texas from that Commonwealth; and I have noticed 
that they all seem to know and to love Isham G. Harris. 

So when I first came to the Senate for a short term by ap- 
pointment of the governor, more than six years ago, I felt that 
curiosity about Senator H.\rris which alwaj-s animates younger 
men to know the actors in great events, sharpened hy the rec- 
ollection of stories told concerning his achievements by those 
who had long been his personal friends. 

When I first saw him, in 1891 , he was well-ripened and proba- 
bly at his best. 

I have often watched him, in the cloak room, in his Senato- 
rial seat, in the chair of the presiding officer, and he always 
seemed the same. I do not remember ever to have heard him 
laugh aloud. There was the twinkle in the eye, the manifest 
enjoyment in the general merriment, but he never appeared to 
' ' turn himself loose. ' ' 

I picture him as he would come into the Senate Chamber. 
There, in his familiar place on the right of the Vice-President, 
in the front row, he would take his seat. He hardly seems to 
say anything, as if by previous design. He seems never to 
make an occasion, but to find it in the current proceedings 
as set on foot by others. He seems to spy out that something 
is taking an irregular direction and that he must set it right. 



53 Life and Character of Isltam G. //arris. 

He first asks a question or calls for the reading of some docu- 
ment, as if he imperfectly understood it. Then he proceeds to 
clear up all doubts. First emphasis, then gesticulation — no, 
not in succession, but an indescribable combination of emphasis 
and gesticulation. 

Attention has often been called to his absolute primacy in the 
Senate on all questions relating to parliamentary law. Up to 
the very hour of his last apjiearance here he was so clear and so 
magisterial that he never lost his authority in that field. 

As has been stated, his sendee in Congress began in the House 
of Representatives at the session which convened in December, 
1849, and in that, his first session of service, he exhibited that 
peculiar interest in que.stions of legislative practice which 
marked his long Senatorial career, for the reporter makes the 
following observation touching the proceedings of a particular 
day. 

Some conversation followed on points of order, in which 
Messrs. H.^KKis of Tennessee, White, Disney, Rumsey, Went- 
worth, and the Speaker participated. 

During his four jears in the House I find that he made only 
one set speech. The Wilmot proviso, with all its exciting inci- 
dents, was then the subject of consideration. In that speech we 
find the same principles, the same habits of thought and manner 
which marked his life fifty years afterwards. There was brev- 
ity, for tliough the contest was prolonged and the temptation to 
digress great, he spoke but an hour. There was the strict con- 
struction of the Constitution, for he dwelt on the rule that Con- 
gress jwssesses no powers except those expressly delegated by 
the Constitution or necessary to the exercise of some expressly 
delegated jxjwer; and he, who rarely ever quoted, repeats in that 
speech the words of another great American in protest against 
those "vagrant, wandering powers that find no congenial spot 



Address of Mr. Chilton of Texas. 53 

on which to rest upon the broad face of the Constitution of the 
countr\\ ' ' 

This was his chart of pohtical action in even,- place of duty. 
He followed it after leaving Congress in 1853, and it governed 
his action during all those stirring years which led up to the 
civil war. 

Perhaps the most eventful part of the life of Senator Harri.s 
was that which related to the great organization of secession. 
The governors of the Southern States in 1861 were almost with- 
out exception men of strong character and ability. Perhaps the 
most remarkable of these governors were Brown of Georgia, 
Letcher of Virginia, Sam Houston of Texas, and Harris of 
Tennessee. 

In the difficulties of their surroundings and in vigor of intel- 
lectual comprehension, the Texas and Tennessee governors 
stand highest among this group. 

Sam Houston was a strong Union man. The whole secession 
movement was resolutely combated by him, but, notwithstanding 
his extraordinan,' power in Texas, he found him.self gradually 
submerged by a rising wave of public sentiment which finally 
reached the velocity of a torrent, drove him out of the gov- 
ernor's chair, and took the State out of the Union. There was 
the spectacle of a man who had been strong in the affections of 
his State overridden by an excited and determined people, and 
unable, with all his popularity and influence, to make the slight- 
est headwa3\ He stood almost alone, a Unionist and a conser\'- 
ative, in the midst of organized, indignant, irreconcilable revo- 
lution. 

The situation of Governor Harris in Tennessee was quite a 
different one. He sj-mpathized with secession, he wanted to 
take his State out of the Union, and he used his powers and his 
influence to accomplish the verj- result which Sam Houston had 



54 Z.//r and Character of Isliam G. Harris. 

endeavored to obstnict in Texas. His task was not like that 
which fell to the hands of the governors in States like South 
Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, where both the 
people and the executive, with common impulse, hailed the 
banner of a new confederation. On the contrary-, a powerful 
section of the Tennessee people, led by Andrew Johnson, a 
great Senator Ijelonging to the same party, confronted Govenior 
Harris in his policy of secession. 

We need not dwell upon the details of that struggle, but it is 
enough to say that the courage, tenacity, and generalship of 
Harris prevailed against the combined efforts of Whig and 
Democratic Union leaders in Tennessee and added that State to 
the number of those which constituted the Southern Confed- 
eracy. 

IsHAM G. Harris was one of the few public men of whom 
the people never seemed to tire. 

Ordinarily popularity- is fleeting. The remarkable changes 
which come over the House and the Senate in the course of a 
single decade attest the instability of official tenure; but a few 
men seem proof against all disfavor; if they are ever criticized 
their critics are forgotten; if condemned for a vote they are 
forgiven. To carrj* opposition to the point of actually defeating 
their reelection would be considered at home a sort of high 
treason. So .strong is the general confidence in their high pur- 
pose and right judgment that it always prevails over minor 
difficulties when election day rolls around. 

Senator H.\rris was one of these rare characters. He was 
the hero not only of Tennessee but of Tennesseeans scattered 
throughout the Union. He grew, in their estimation, to be a 
sort of lineal successor to Andrew Jackson. His name and hfe 
and peculiarities always touched their enthusiasm. 

Perhaps the most impre.ssive thing in his strong individuality 



Address of Mr. Chilton of Texas. 55 

was his willingness always to take responsibility and his abso- 
lute unconcern about results — that cheerful faith that the right 
will take care of itself and that there need be no anxiety on the 
part of a public man except the anxiety to be right. 

I have seen men whom God had blessed with conscience and 
courage, but not with equanimity, so that, knowing the truth 
and voting the truth, they were still nervous that they should 
not be misunderstood and fidgeting about consequences which 
they were determined to face. 

Not so with Senator Harris. He seemed to think that a 
man who acted truly upon his con\-ictions of right held an abso- 
lute insurance pohcy against all disaster at the hands of the 
people. 

What a great life ma^- be worked out on that sort of logic. 
You may put a small man in Congress, and if he looks at every 
question as it arises with a heart single and an eye single to 
finding out the right, in a few years such a dignity will be 
given to his apparent mediocrity that he will gradually emerge 
above the le\'el of his fellows and assume a consideration in the 
countr)- which will make men wonder at the secret of his rise. 

If men of moderate mind can be thus lifted by the practice of 
simple straightforwardness, how splendid becomes the principle 
when it acts on a man of native intellectual power and force of 
character? This was the combination in the case of Isham G. 
Harris. He was always clear, always firm, always true, 
alwavs great. 



56 Life and Character of Ishani G. Harris. 



ADDRESS OF MR. TURLEY. 

Mr. TuRLKY. Mr. President, for more than fifty years the 
name of Isham G. Harris has been a houseliold word and a 
tower of strength in the State of Tennessee. Probably no other 
man in the history of the State has exercised so potent an influ- 
ence upon its fortunes and its destiny. Once he served it in the 
legislature, twice as Presidential elector, twice in the House of 
Representatives, three times as governor, for four years in war, 
and four times in the Senate of the United States. Every honor 
that the people of Tennessee could confer was bestowed on him. 
Other of her sons may have serx-ed her longer in particular de- 
partments, but no other one has served her in so many ways or 
so long and so faithfully as he did. 

His power and influence in his native State may be illustrated 
by the political change brought about by him in 1856. From 
1832, the year in which Andrew Jackson was elected to his sec- 
ond term, to 1856, when James Buchanan was the Democratic 
candidate — a period of twenty-four years — the State of Tennes- 
see had been a Whig stronghold. In 1856 Isham G. Harris 
was an elector at large on the Buchanan ticket. The Whigs 
elected ex-Governor Neil S. Brown to uphold the principles of 
their part}'. The canvass made h\ those great sous of Tennes- 
see is historic in our State. In the judgment of a people who 
had been accustomed to li.sten to such men as Grundy, Gentry, 
Andrew John.son, Cave Johnson, Polk, Jones, and others of that 
class, it was pronounced the most remarkable and profound dis- 
cussion of gfreat political questions which had ever occurred in 
the State, and all felt that for years it would settle and control 
the political character and policy of Tennessee. 

Governor Brown was a man of great intellect and matchless 



Address of Mr. Tiirhv of Tennessee. 57 

powers of oratory. He was a man of winning and popular man- 
ners; and he had behind him a compact, powerful party, flushed 
with a quarter of a century of continuous victory. But nothing 
could resist the earnestness, the force and power of Isham G. 
Harris. The campaign was a death blow to the Whig party, 
and from that time forth Tennessee has been a Democratic State. 

Senator Harris was one of those rare men who seemed fitted 
physicall}', mentall}-, and morally for every phase and condition, 
every changing emergency- of life. 

His appearance was pleasing and impressive. Above the mid- 
dle height, his figure was well proportioned and compact. His 
eyes were piercing and full of intelligence. His features were 
strong and framed to express and portray every feehng and sen- 
timent of his mind and soul. With an iron constitution, which 
defied fatigue and disea.se, he possessed a vitality which seemed 
inexhaustible. 

Xo one faculty of his mind was unduly developed, but each 
was fitted for its special functions, and all went to make up a 
well-rounded, perfect intellect. While he was a mau of action 
rather than of books, yet his information was varied and ac- 
curate. He never entered upon the examination of any .sub- 
ject without exhausting all the means of information at his 
command. Men and affairs he studied well and accurately. 

He was both passionate and impulsive; but his impulses were 
high and honorable, and his fiery passions were controlled bj- 
his indomitable will and his strict sense of justice. He was 
fluent and brilliant in conversation; courteous and gallant in 
bearing and demeanor. Possessed of an undaunted courage that 
knew not fear, he had at the same time as kind and sympa- 
thetic a heart as ever beat in human bosom. His Ufe was one 
long series of kind deeds and concealed charities. He was the 
genius of forceful action, of industrj- and work. He never tired 



58 Life and Character 0/ Isham G. Harris. 

Of his rugged honesty and his unspotted honor I need not 
speak. They are known of all men. He was ambitious of 
fame, character, distinction, and acliievements; and, while he 
was aggressive and impatient of opposition, j-et no man was 
ever more thoughtful and considerate of the rights and feelings 
of others. 

There have been greater orators than Ish.v.m G. H.\rris, but 
few greater debaters; men more learned in books and theories, 
but few better versed in all the practical affairs of life. There 
have been lawyers more distinguished, statesmen more re- 
nowned, men better equipped in special fields and for particular 
work, but it is hard to conceive, take him all in all, of a more 
forceful and efficient man, a man better qualified to impress 
him.self upon his life and times, than was Ish.\m G. H.vrkis. 

We can see this from his long, adventurous, and remarkable 
career. A pennile.ss youth, he became a successful merchant 
before he was 2 1 ; a law>'er of prominence and distinction before 
he was 25; a member of the legislature before he was 30; a 
member of the Hou.se of Representatives at 31; governor of 
his State at 39; an exile from his countrj- at 47; reduced again 
to f)Overty before he was 50, he became once more a merchatit, 
and then a lawyer, and finally a Senator in the Congress of the 
United States — equally great, forceful, and self-reliant under all 
these conditions and in all the.se places and f)ositions. 

The universality, if I may so call it, of his character and mind 
especially marked him as a lawyer. He was equally strong and 
vigorous in every branch of his profession. His practice em- 
braced all the courts. Those who were thrown with him could 
scarcely tell wlien he appeared at his best. Sometimes it seemed 
in the heat and fire of a great criminal trial, when the life of a 
client hung on the i.ssue, and again when he was bringing the 
strength of liis intellect to the elucidation of some intricate 



Address of Mr. Tiirlcy of Tennessee. 59 

principle before a learned chancellor or the highest tribunal of 
his State. 

No lawyer in Tennessee ever had greater power and influence 
on its courts and juries, and I may add here that no client who 
had a just cause was ever turned awaj- by him because he was 
unable to bring with him a fee. His sen-ices were alwaj's open 
to the poor and distressed without fee and without price. 

He could and would go to any just length in behalf of what 
he believed to be right, but at the same time he was practical 
and conser\-ative. This latter phase of his character is shown 
bj- his conduct after his return to Tennessee from his exile in 
Mexico and England. The South was in the throes of the 
reconstruction period; negro suffrage had just been established; 
passion ran riot; and the feeling of hostility against the Gen- 
eral Government was, if possible, more intense than during the 
time of flagrant war. All eyes were at once turned toward him. 
By his example, by his conduct, and by his advice he counseled 
moderation and a dignified acquiescence in the new order of 
things — the inevitable. And no man in Tennessee or in the 
South did nore to bring about that era of good feeling which 
now exists between the two sections and to revive in the South- 
em heart that sense of loyalty to and patriotism for our com- 
mon countn,- which had been stifled by the fierce strife of civil 
war. 

His fairness, his justice, his frank, outspoken, upright char- 
acter are evidenced by the strong hold he always had on his 
political opponents. In his hottest political battles he com- 
manded the respect, the esteem, the admiration of those with 
whom he contended. 

His long career in this body is a part of the history of our 
country. Of his ser\nces here others are better qualified to 
speak than am I. 



f' I I. iff and Character of hitam C. I/arris. 

I can not recall the time when I did not know him. His 
older sons were my schoolmates and friends. I was raised to 
respect him as the greatest of living Tennesseeans. From my 
earliest manhood up to the time of his death our relations were 
most intimate and confidential. I can say of him what Judge 
Haj'wood, the early historian of our State, said of Gen. James 
Robertson, one of its noblest pioneers: 

He was a man who by his actions merited all the eulogimn. 
esteem, and affection which the most ardent of his countrymen 
have ever bestowed ujxDn him. Like almost all of tho.se in 
America who have attained eminent celebrity, he had not a 
noble lineage to boast of nor the escutcheoned armorials of a 
splendid ancestry; but he had what was far more \-aluable, a 
.sound mind, a healthy constitution, a robust frame, a love of 
virtue, an intrepid .soul, and an emulous desire for honest fame. 

Mr. B.'\TE. I ask that the sf)eech made by the Senator from 
Indiana [Mr. Turpie] on the occasion of the memorial at Mem- 
phis, Tenn., the home of Senator Harris, as a representative 
of the Senate, ha\nng been selected by the committee, be printed 
in connection with the proceedings here to-day. He made a 
speech, and one would know what it was from the man — a verj- 
able effort and e.sjjecially an analysis of Mr. H.xkris as a Sena- 
tor. It was brilliant, beautiful, logical, and all that can l)e said 
about it. 

The \'ick-President. Is there objection to the request of 
the Senator from Tenne.s.see? The Chair hears none, aud it is 
so ordered. 



Address of Mr. Tiirpic of Indiana. 6i 



Speech of Hon. David Turpie, at Memphis, Tenn. 

In the midst of the dearth and dryness of mind, the mere 
inertia and indifference that have so much beset our age, save 
upon the subject as to how riches may be gotten and profits 
may accrue it is a goodly relief as well as a wholesome solace to 
recall the memory of one who chose and cherished an ideal, a 
standard of life more noble than this— one who devoted his 
labor, his attention, his time, his great abilities, with incessant 
diligence, with unfaltering fidelity, to the public ser\ace of the 
people. 

IsHAM G. Harris, President of the Senate, for more than 
twenty years a member of that body, was not born in the pur- 
ple. He was no favored son of wealth or fortune. The circum- 
stances of his early years were undistinguished by anj^ prestige 
of superior advantage or opportunity. His education was that 
of the common school and the academy. For the rest he was 
well taught, being self-taught. He did not disparage the learn- 
ing or knowledge of the schools, but he gathered wisdom yet 
more abundantly. Nature had so richly endowed him for the 
whole course of the journey of life that he needed not to tarrv' 
long by the, way for other assistance. 

He was a man of manifold gifts, and so truly many sided that 
it would be presumption in anyone to attempt to describe him 
except under those aspects in which he came under his observa- 
tion. In the later years of his Senatorial service he was very 
often engaged in the discharge of the duties of the Chair. He 
presided with much dignity, with equal impartiality^ and deci- 
sion. His long experience with legislative bodies, his thorough 
acquaintance with the rules of the Senate, and his thoughtful 
study of the general principles of parliamentary' law had qualified 



62 Life and Character of /sham G. I /arris. 

liini in tlie most eminent manner for the position to which he 
hail lx;en elected by the free choice of his colleagues. It was 
well worth a journey to Washington to see him in the chair in a 
full Senate at some period of lively colloquy or exciting debate. 

Order reigned first in silence save as to the member who was 
speaking in his place. And this condition was unbroken, un- 
disturbed, continuous; yet as President of the Senate he seldom 
used the gravel. The face, the figure, the whole demeanor was 
such as to require and enforce respect and attention. Questions 
of recognition were instantly decided. Interrupting messages 
from the House or from the President were smoothly announced 
and dispatched with all due celerity and the regular course of 
discu.ssiou was resumed. If a knot or tangle, |>erchance, oc- 
curred in the day's proceedings, it was untied by an explanation 
from the Chair so succinct in statement, so clear in its tenor 
and effect, so absolutely fair and candid in its purpose, that all 
acquiesced therein. 

Sometimes near the dose of a long and tedious sitting a ques- 
tion of order was raised which required a review of the former 
proceedings of the Senate for the whole day, or perhaps longer. 
Tliis review, in his terms and language, was a plain, clear nar- 
ration of events in the precise order of their occurrence; no 
step was omitted; nothfug forgotten. Every amendment and 
modification was noticed and the time of its offer. Even the 
motions that failed — the unsuccessful motion to adjourn, to 
refer, or to reconsider^were not overlooked. His opinion was 
an oral transcript of the record during every hour up to the 
moment when the question in argument arose. It w-as deliv- 
ered without note or memoranda, and then followed the final 
ruling. Such a passage in parliamentary procedure showed 
Ijeyond question the most retentive power of memory, intel- 
lectual acumen and discernment, an accurate knowledge of 



Address of Mr. Tiirpie of Indiana. 63 

precedent and practice, a compreheusi\'e grasp of the present 
and actual condition of affairs so much required in the Presi- 
dency of the leading parliamentarj^ bod}- of the world. 

Now and then a new Senator, unacquainted with the rules, 
would take the floor with an impossible motion, one out of time, 
out of place, contrary to rule. Such an occasion afforded an 
opportunity for a study of the manner of the President worthy 
the closest obser\ration. With the shadow of a smile, almost 
suppressed, upon his face, the Chair, having heard the motion, 
stated that in his opinion the same could not just then be enter- 
tained, always in such an instance giving the reasons for his 
action, briefly, but firmly, and accompanying the ruling with a 
suggestion to the honorable Senator of another way in which he 
might probably accomplish his purpose. This was done not 
after the fashion of a master toward his pupil, but rather in the 
tone and manner of civilitj- with which a gentleman engaged in 
conversation with another upon a topic of some moment in 
which both were interested, would remind his friend of a cir- 
cumstance which he knew quite well, but had for the moment 
forgotten. Yet he could administer a rebuke when reproof was 
necessary in the most courtly phrase and with great severit)', 
but the occasion of this exercise of discipline must have been 
plain, apparent, salient. It must have been some action of the 
ofifender in violation of the ordinary rules of decorum and pro- 
priety .so marked as to overcome, for the time being, the natural 
kindness of heart and the habitual .suavity of the presiding offi- 
cer. For no man ever participated in the deliberations of a leg- 
islative assembly who had a more particular regard or a more 
considerate deference for the rights, the opinions, the feelings, 
and sensibilities of others. 

His excellence as a presiding officer, his studies and research 
in the annals of Congress and in the history of precedents in 



64 Life and Characlcr of Isliam G. Harris. 

free representative assemblies, caused him for many years to be 
consulted as an arbiter uix)n these subjects. It was no uncom- 
mon thing for him to be calletl upon in the open Senate by 
Senators of either side, sometimes by the Vice-President or other 
occupant of the chair, to deliver from his seat an opinion in re- 
gard to some disputed question of order which was at the time 
pending. 

When he spoke thus in response to an inquiry from his scat. 
there was quite a difference in his tone and conduct from that 
which accompanied his utterances when in the chair — a differ- 
ence easily ob.ser\'ed by one accustomed to note his manner. It 
was seldom expressed in words, always implied by the most 
courteous but constant intimation. It seemed the result or ef- 
fect of the change in his position. There was in both instances 
the same lucid statement of the point in difference, the same 
temperate, careful, and thoroughly rational discussion of the 
diverse sides of the controversy, followed by his own conclusion 
and the course of argument which led him thereto. But in the 
chair he spoke always as one having authority, an authority de- 
rived from the Constitution, vested in him as such by the suf- 
frages of his fellow-members. 

When he spoke from his seat upon like questions, his de- 
meanor, his language, and action were no longer those of com- 
mand, but of advice, of counsel. He was now the elder brother 
in consultation with his peers. In every mode of implication, 
by the tone and rhythm of the voice, by gesture, always signifi- 
cant and picturesque, it was made apparent that another now 
occupied the chair, upon whom devolved the duty of deciding, 
and those who had honored him by asking his views of the case 
were alike responsible — answerable for the action which the 
Senate might take, not at all bound by any judgment of his any 
furtlier than reason might show its propriety. 



Address of Mr. Tiirpic of Indiana. 65 

This delicacy of adjustment to change of position was one of 
the most singular characteristics of his whole course. I do not 
suppose that he was at all conscious of it, or that it was in any 
wise premeditated. It was in the nature of the man. He was 
one of those lofty spirits who could afford not only to recognize 
but to defer to his associates, having such rare and absolute tol- 
eration for the freedom of speech and opinions that he declined, 
in such ca.se, to dictate to others, as he would have spurned dic- 
tation to himself. 

Too much praise can hardly be given him for the sedulous 
care, the uninterrupted regularity, with which he performed 
the duties of his office and of his position as a Senator. He 
recognized in the most practical way the several obligations 
which were due from him to the country at large, to his own 
beloved State, to the Senate, to the committees of that body, to 
his colleagues in both branches of the Congress, to his very 
luimerous correspondents in all parts of the country. He 
seemed to have made an allotment of his time to each of these 
acknowledged claimants, and with respect to an engagement 
concerning his official action he was of all men the most precise 
in terms and the most punctual in performance. This regular 
performance of daily duty had become with him habitual— as 
manifest in the last days of his active ser\4ce as in the beginning. 

He participated very often in the debates of the Senate, but 
he seldom spoke at much length, insomuch that those who 
heard him wished most heartily, not that he had .said more — for 
few could say as much in less compass — but that he had spoken 
longer. He was very forcible in colloquy, rapid and keen in 
retort, very able in reply. When he addressed the Senate at 
greater length, upon some measure of national or general con- 
cern, he used great care both in preparation and delivery. 

Fact followed fact, statement succeeded statement, argument, 
S. Doc. 343 5 



66 /-/A" iiiid Character of /s/iaiii (i. Harris. 

with the reasoning in its supjwrt, was presented in the most 
perfect symmetry and order. If a good style has to be defined, 
as it has l)een l>y a high authority, "as the use of proper words 
in ])roper places," he had a style most excellent. His voice 
was a full tenor, clear, musical, res6nant; the sound of it lin- 
gered in the ear after the words had cea.sed. To this was added 
a certain demeanor of the body only partially described in the 
term gesture, since the whole person .seemed to lie informed 
with the spirit of his utterances, and when he kindled into 
enthu.sia.sm, as he sometimes did, the V;ffect was in the highest 
degree impressive. 

He was by nature an admirable actor, without the slightest 
trace of art or affectation; yet, in the ordinary course of events 
when he rose and addressed the Chair, although something was 
always .said, it was more especially looked for that something 
was to be done. His executive force, tact, and discretion were 
well known and highly appreciated, so that it frequently oc- 
curred that he was designated by unanimous consent to a.s.sume 
the parliamentary management and conduct of the most impor- 
tant measures. This took place with reference to the revenue 
bill of 1894. After its introduction and second reading, and 
toward the close of the general debate, he was selected to take 
charge of its further progress. 

The measure was at that time yet in most jierilous ca.se. It 
was threatened with a deluge of adverse amendments, it was 
encountered by the sharpest and most capable opposition, it was 
endangered by the cold indifference of some of those who had 
voted in support of it, but the Senator from Tennessee did not 
decline the ta.sk thus given him. He was even then well 
stricken in years, but he was a friend of this measure. He and 
many others of his side earnestly desired its passage. Under 
these conditions his eves were not dim. nor was his natural 



Address of Mr. Titrpic of I/idiaim. 67 

force abated. Through the prolonged hours of that laborious 
session, day and night, whenever the Senate convened, during 
the repeated periods of delay, obstruction, and postponement, 
he was always in his seat or in his place on the floor. 

If an}' had grown weary, he was alwaj's on the alert; if some 
were even inclined to slumber, he was always awake upon the 
watch. Those present he encouraged, the absent he chided — he 
chided but he sent for them. Message after message, written 
and verbal, with his compliments, with his regards, with assur- 
ances of his highest consideration, only they must come — the 
ab-sentees must attend. It was hard to decline an invitation 
from Senator Harris. It was usually more effective than a 
summons from the Sergeant-at-Arms. 

One of the mo.st remarkable of his varied accomplishments 
was that of felicitous importunity, an importunity full of ease 
and elegance, not discouraged by refusal, biding time in cour- 
teous patience, not to be gotten rid of either as to the man or his 
subject. The eye, the touch, the tone of wistful entreaty, 
stirred the living, and would, were that possible, have rai.sed 
the dead into action in behalf of the cause for which he pleaded. 
The act of 1S94 could hardly have failed with such an advocate. 
He had announced soon after taking charge of the bill that it 
was possible to pass it. What was possible was accomplished. 
The measure became the law of the land; and this result was 
largely due to his parliamentar)' tact and judgment — his patient, 
persistent, unwearied assiduity. 

And again, at a later period in his life, when the weight of 
years must have pressed still more heavily upon his pow-er of 
endurance, he took upon himself, at the request of those near 
him, the labor and duty of organizing and uniting those inside 
of his own political household in favor of the policy of bimetal- 
lism — a policy which he always declared involved neither change 



68 Life and Character of [sham ( i. Harris. 

nor innovation, but was as to our law restoration, as to silver 
itself restitution, and a safe return to the ancient, long-tried, and 
well-established usage and practice of our fathers. With what 
success he prosecuted and completed his portion of this great 
design the official record of the late national convention specially 
discloses, and we all are witnesses. 

It must have seemed even to his ardent zeal in the Ijeginning 
a work of mountainous difficulty and of much uncertainty in the 
e\-ent. It involved a correspondence under his direction and 
supen'ision with persons residing in everj' State and Territory 
and Congressional di.strict of the United States. It required a 
daily comparison of part with part, a sinnmary of very numerous 
details, sudden and constant re.sort to the best method of answer 
and reply, information wide and accurate, with ceaseless vigi- 
lance and circumspection to the close. Such were for many 
months his labors, worthy of the man and of the cau.se. 

Those versed in modern mechanism and invention have fur- 
nished us with a phrase now become quite familiar — "applied 
science." Called upon to designate in the briefest terms the 
controlling, guiding principle of a career so greatly prolonged, 
so highly di.stinguished, we might justly name it "applied com- 
mon sense" in its broadest significance and in the most active 
development. 

Action was a nece.ssity of his being. He was as prone to 
take the initiative, and to keep it, as the sparks to fly upward. 
Someone, now many years ago, in Washington, spoke to him 
once about accepting a position upon the Federal bench. 
"No," he said, "I desire no .such position. I do not wish to 
be tied up like a log in a raft with nothing to do but to float 
or to drift at the end of a line. My boat must l^e in the moving 
current. I must feel the gale ; should it come, must ride out 
the storm, if I have nothing left but the rudder in my hand." 



Address of Mr. T^irpie of Indiana. 69 

This readiness to participate actively in affairs was not exer- 
cised without care or caution. He was neither rash, reckless, 
nor indifferent to consequences. His -vision, his view of men 
and events, was clear. He was subject to no delusions. He 
sometimes failed, as men must who will act while others wait, 
but he was of valiant heart, strenuous will, and of that fertility 
in resource which either eluded or defied disaster. Failure, with 
him, was no finality — rather a cause and occasion for further 
endeavor. 

His life was so crowded with action that it is not known that 
he had the leisure, even if he had the inclination, to have left 
behind him a single line of personal history- or reminiscence. 
Moreover, he was a man of strong attachments ; in friendship, 
earnest and sincere. How he loved Memphis, the city of his 
home and residence! He delighted to speak of its thrift and 
progress, of its harbor and landings, of its public buildings 
and other improvements, all of which had felt the fostering 
hand of his care and solicitude. How inseparably his name is 
connected with the magnificent transit-waj' of commerce and 
travel which, hard by, spans the broad current of the Father of 
Waters. Often he .spoke of his State, always in the language 
of the warmest affection — his native State, whose great and 
generous constituencies had so long and so bounteously given 
him their support and confidence. 

The faculty of almost instant adaptation of himself to circum- 
stances of whatever exigenc}', his manner of molding men to 
his side and way, his steady advance against insurmountable 
obstacles, his survival of the rudest shocks of adverse fortune 
were as manifest throughout his whole course as they are inde- 
scribable. 

Witness his departure to Mexico at the conclusion of the great 
civil war, his adventurous sojourn within the domain of that 



70 Life and Character of hham (',. Harris. 

Republic, his voyage to England, for he crossed the ocean not 
in quest of ease, but of fresh fields of new enterprise, his return 
to Tennessee and to this city, the reentry upon the business of 
his profession, his continuous and very successful practice in 
the courts, the canvass for his first election to the Senate, his 
successive reelections to that position — these are testimonials 
written at large to the genius, character, and conduct of one 
destined to so conspicuous a career. 

Last scene of all — his death at the capital — at his place and 
post of duty, the obsequies in the Senate Chamber, the funeral 
cortege thence bearing his remains to their final resting place, 
a whole city in niouniing to receive them, a State — the whole 
sisterho<xl of States — in sorrowing sympathy with you for a loss 
so irreparable, commemorating with you, my hearers, also 
to-day the demise of a great statesman whose course, with all 
its vicissitudes, has Iseen in the end so grandly crowned with 
years, with honors, and with the just fame which follows a life 
so useful and beneficent. 

The \'ice-Pkksidknt. The ceremonies having been con- 
cluded, by virtue of the last of the series of resolutions hereto- 
fore adopted, the Senate stands adjounied. 

The Senate accordingly (at 4 o'clock and 20 minutes p. m.) 
adjourned until Monday, March 28, 1898, at 12 o'clock 
meridian. 



Proceedings in the House. 

July 12, 1897. 

Mr. Moon. Mr. Speaker, as a mark of re.spect to the memory 
of the late Senator Harris, of Tennessee, I move that this 
House now suspend business until 12 o'clock to-morrow. 

The motion was agreed to unanimously; and the House accord- 
ingly (at 12 o'clock and 5 minutes p. m.) took a recess until 12 

o'clock to-morrow. 

71 



EULOGIES ON THE LATE SENATOR HARRIS. 

June iS, 1898. 

Mr. McMii.i.iN. Mr. Speaker, I offer the resolutions which I 
send to the Clerk's desk, pursuant to the special order. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolu- 
tions, j 

The resolutions were read, as follows: 

Resolved, That the business of the Hou.se lie now .suspended 
that opportunity may be given for fitting tribute to the memory 
of Hon. I-SH.VM G. H.^RRis, late a Senator from the State of ^ 

Tennes.see. i 

Resolved, That, as an additional mark of re.spect to his memory 
and eminent ser\'ice, at the conclusion of the.se memorial pro- 
ceedings the House stand adjourned. 

Resolved. That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted by 
the Clerk of the House to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these re.solutions to 
the Senate. 
72 



Address of Mr. McMillin of Tennessee. 73 

Address of Mr. McMillin. 

Mr. McMillin. Mr. Speaker, we assemble to-day to pay 
tribute to the memory of one of the most remarkable men ever 
produced by "the Volunteer State" — IsHAM GrEEn Harris. 
Tennessee has been prolific of great men, and thej' have been 
prolific of great deeds. She, before admission to statehood, fur- 
nished John Sevier and his fellow-officers and their brave com- 
rades to win the battle of Kings Mountain and the Revolution ; 
furni.shed General Jackson to conquer England's trained army 
at New Orleans, and subsequently, as President, to stand as the 
great tribune of the people; furnished Polk to carrj' on the 
Mexican war; Houston to wrest Texas from Mexico; Crockett 
to immortalize "the Alamo" by his death, and Andrew John- 
son to take the helm of state as President during the trying 
hours immediatel)' succeeding our civil war. The State has 
furnished a long line of other noble and able statesmen, yet Mr. 
Speaker, Isham G. Harris stands out in hi.story as a distin- 
guished man, even when compared to these distinguished .sons 
of our splendid State. 

Isham G. Harris was born in Franklin Count}-, Tenn., on 
the loth of February, 1818. He died July 8, 1897. He there- 
fore lacked but little of reaching fourscore years. He married 
Miss Martha Travis, of Paris, Tenn., whom he survived only a 
few months. They left four sons; and four of their children 
died before the parents. 

That State — this country — -has produced few men who 
achieved so many triumphs despite so many difficulties. 

He was too poor when he began life to acquire a collegiate 
education. He was too poor even to start a business of his own 
and had to hire to another as clerk. But early in the action he 



"4 /-//<■ '""'' Character of Isham (',. Harris. 

showed those sterling qualities — intelligence, integrity, and 
industry — which caused him to win his first battle, enabled 
him to enter business on his own account alxjut the time he 
attained his majority, and to triumph in so many of the battles 
of later life. But this is an experience so oft witnessed that it 
has come to be doubted whether poverty in youth has not made 
more great men than it ever marred. Poverty and misfortunes try 
the man. Trials and tribulations once pa.s.sed are found to have 
chastened and strengthened the man instead of weakening him. 

Mr. Speaker, a brief, plain narrative of the struggles of Sena- 
tor H.XRKis and his triumphs makes a very bright page in 
American history. He was born before Jefferson wrote his 
famous letter urging the promulgation of the " Monroe doc- 
trine" or Monroe proclaimed it. He therefore .saw the rise and 
triumph of that doctrine whereby our Government laid out the 
map of the world and forced the world to accept the map. 

He was a young man when Jack.son, who had been a soldier in 
the Revolution, still lived. He l^eheld his country when it num- 
bered but a few millions; he lived to see it surpass in greatness 
and grandeur not only the nations now existing but any nation 
that ever rose in the world's hi.story. He lived when there was 
not a railroad, a telegraph, or a telephone in the world. Yet 
when he died our country had enough railroad mileage to circle 
the globe six times. Before he died he could whisper across the 
State and talk almost across the continent. Before his death he 
could ha\'e recorded his voice in the graphophone so it could be 
taken off sigh for sigh and sound for sound by his grandchildren 
fifty years after his death. 

As already stated, he moved from Franklin County, Tenn., to 
Henry County when only about 14 years old, to hire as a clerk 
in a store. I have narrated how he set up for himself at the 
age of 2 1 years. 



Address of Mr. McMUlin of Tennessee. 75 

But mercantile pursuits were not sufficiently exciting for him. 
While thus engaged, looking forward to a vocation more conge- 
nial with his fiery and eloquent nature, he had studied law at 
night, getting whatever private training he could obtain. 

He moved back to Paris, Tenn. , whence he had gone to Mis- 
sissippi, and in the year 1841 began the practice of the law in 
conjunction with an older brother, who was both able and dis- 
tinguished in the practice. From this time forward his life was 
one of strenuous exertion, constant battle, and great triumph. 

He was elected a member of the State legislature from his 
senatorial district in 1847. 

In 1 848 he was a candidate for elector from his Congressional 
district on the Democratic ticket. He displayed tact and ability 
to such a degree as to arouse the enthusiasm of his friends and 
cause them to look to him for a standard bearer later on. 

In 1849 he was nominated for Congress, again canvassing the 
district, and was elected. 

He was reelected in 185 1, and at the clo.se of his term, declin- 
ing further nomination, he removed to Memphis, which was his 
home until his death, and entered successfully into the practice 
of his profession. 

In 1856 he again entered the political arena as candidate for 
elector for the State at la-'ge on the Democratic ticket. His 
opponent in this campaign was one of the most distinguished of 
Tennessee .sons, ex-Governor Neil S. Brown, who was not only 
able as a lawyer but able in debate. He was one of two dis- 
tinguished brothers, the other being Gen. John C. Brown, who 
were governors of Tennessee. 

In 1857 he was elected governor of Tennessee. 

In 1859 he was reelected. 

Then came the stirring events of the civil war in which he 
was to play so distinguished a part. As ' ' war governor ' ' he was 



76 Life and Character of Isliam d. Harris. 

untirinja^ in his exertions in organizing and equipping troops, 
sending theni to the front, and in feeding and clotliing them. 
So energetically and suc-cessfuUy did he carr>- on this work that 
when the war closed alxjut 100,000 men had been furnished to 
the Confederate army, notwithstanding the thousands that had 
gone to the Union Army, the State lieing divided in sentiment 
on the question of secession. 

When Tennessee was overrun by the Federal forces and the 
capitol had to be abandoned, Senator Harris took up his line 
of march with the Confederate troops and stayed with them to 
the close of the conflict. He was a portion of the time with 
that great cavalry commander. Gen. Bedford Forrest; but proba- 
bly a greater portion of his time prior to the death of that 
distinguished general was spent with Gen. Albert Sidney John- 
ston, by whose side he was when that great commander of 
Confederate forces was killed as Shiloh. One of the most 
graphic descriptions I ever heard was by Senator H.\rris, only 
a few days before the beginning of his last illness, giving an 
account of the death of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston and the 
great battle in which it occurred. 

During this period he had in his custotly the school fund of 
Tennessee. It was a coin fund, dedicated by the people of Ten- 
nes.see to the cause of education alone, and amounted to many 
hundred thousand dollars. \\''hen conijjelled to leave the State 
he carried this trea.sure with him, and month after month and 
year after year, from city to city, as the army went, the fund 
was taken. Through all troubles it was presented intact, and 
when the war closed, not being able to return to the State, he 
sent it back to be used as the law had dedicated it. 

At the close of this fierce conflict, in which more than 2,000,000 
soldiers had participated, sectional and war prejudices were at 
the highest pitch. Tliu IIkii ruling government of Tennessee, 



Address of Mr. Mc Mill in of Tennessee. 77 

on the charge that he had been guilty of treason to the State, 
offered a reward for Senator Harris, by reason of which he 
left the United States and went to Mexico. After staying 
some time in Mexico he went to England, where he lived and 
engaged in business for one year. The prejudices of war subsid- 
ing, he returned to the State he had loved so well and resumed 
the practice of his profession. 

He continued this, taking intere.st in the political affairs of 
his State, but seeking no office until 1S76. In that year the 
Democratic part}-, in convention at Nashville, moved by a re- 
markably eloquent address delivered by him to the convention, 
nominated him over all opposition as candidate for elector on 
the Tilden-Hendricks ticket. It soon developed that there still 
existed in some portions of the State prejudice against him to 
such a degree that he came to believe that votes would be polled 
against his party on account of prejudices against him. With 
the same manliness and devotion that had characterized his 
whole life he came forward in a patriotic address to the people, 
declining to make the race for elector, in order that some man 
against whom there were no prejudices might be put forward 
by his party. At the same time he declared his purpose to be 
no laggard in the conflict, but to go forward, doing battle 
wherever his services were needed, which he did. 

In 1877 he was elected by the Democratic legi-slature to the 
United States Senate, where the balance of his life was spent in 
faithful and efficient service to his country. Those who ser\'ed 
with him in the Senate have already testified to his efficiency in 
everj- department of legislative life. It will, therefore, not be 
necessary for me to recount all of his characteristics in that body. 
Suffice it to say that as a debater he was courteous but bold, 
pointed, able, and eloquent. As a parliamentarian, he probably 
had no superior in the distinguished body of which he was a 



"8 Life aiitf Cfiarai/er of Isham G. Harris. 

member. He adhered with unflinching devotion to the principles 
of the Democratic party. He l)eheve<l in a strict construction of 
the Constitution, in economy in public expenses, and the exertion 
of the taxing power only for the purpose of obtaining revenue. 

When the great conflict was on in 1894 for revising the tariff 
laws and reducing taxation to the requirements of economic 
government, he was made the manager in the Senate of that 
measure. He was also appointed one of the conferees on the 
part of the Senate when that bill was sent to conference. Dur- 
ing the long and trying jieriod that it was in conference he 
attended with the same punctuality and worked with the same 
assiduity that characterized him in all things. Though then 
verj- old, he was able to stand the long strain when others more 
youthful and apparently more robust gave way. He and the 
lamented andeloquent Voorheeswere both on thatconference, and 
have both gone hence, lea\'ing behind a great name and record. 

During a portion of the time thatSenatorHARRiS was a member 
of the Senate he was President pro tempore of that body, and no 
man was more frequently called to the chair, whether the admin- 
i.stration of the Senate was of his ixjlitical faith or not, than he. 

Many regarded Senator Harkis as impetuous. He was never 
so in coming to a conclusion. He was careful of his premises, 
deliberate in making up his mind; but when the conclusion was 
reached, his stand was so decided and his action so unrestrained 
that many, not knowing him well, would conclude that he was 
an impulsive and impetuous man, whereas nothing was further 
from him. 

He was warm in his friendships, true to his friends, and truth- 
ful in all things. He never made a promise that he did not 
fulfill nor even give an intimation in a direction that he did 
not intend to go. 

Blessed with a strong constitution that seemed to require no 



Address of Mr. McMillin of Tennessee. 79 

care, with a body that never tired, aud a spirit that never 
flagged, this remarkable man mo\-ed on to a ripe old age with 
not a mental faculty dimmed aud with none of his fier>' spirit 
quenched. But the end came, as it must come to all. The 
time arrived when the spirit, though unimpaired, could not pull 
forward a weary, worn, and wasted body. Until a very recent 
period before his death he continued to wait upon the daily 
sessions of the Senate with his accu.stomed regularity. Finally, 
when the breakdown did come, he went to the seashore to gain 
strength and recuperation. And well might he, for during the 
period that they were contemporaries the waves had not been 
more ceaseless in their motion than his spirit ceaseless in its 
exertion. The recuperation obtained there was only temporary-. 
He returned to the Capitol and to the Senate Chamber to again 
take up the struggle; but the effort was useless. The time had 
come when a long and eventful life must terminate — that earth 
was to reclaim its dust, and God the spirit He had lent it. I 
stood at his bedside and felt his last pulse beat. The end was 
as calm as the summer's eve on which it came. The man who 
had been so fiery in life was as a .sleeping child in death. 

With appropriate ceremonies his funeral occurred in the Sen- 
ate Chamber. There is where it should have occurred. He 
had had every- trial that could test youth, every struggle that 
could embarrass young manhood, and ever}' difficulty that could 
hamper mature manhood and old age. Step by step he had gone 
forward and upward, till he had held almost every oflBce in the 
gift of his State. And having been honored by it as few men 
are honored, he tecame an exile from it — a wanderer in foreign 
lauds, where none but strange faces were to meet him and none 
but strange voices to greet him — a standing reward offered by 
his native State for his capture and return. But over all of 
these he triumphed, and returning to his loved Commonwealth, 



8o Life and Characlcr of Isham G. Harris. 

was again chosen as tlic leader of its thoujj;ht and action, and 
for a fifth of a century occupied with distinguished abihty a seat 
in that great Chanilx;r. It was therefore fitting that the scene 
of his activities should be that of his funeral. The jxiverty 
under which he rested in his youth and the difficulties he en- 
countered in after years neither retarded nor crushed him. 

Mr. Speaker, it is said that the eagle builds its nest never near 
the ground, nor ever in the valley, but on loftiest and most 
inaccessible p)eaks. It is al.so said that when the parent bird 
concludes that the eaglets have lingered long enough around 
the nest she carries them, not down with tenderness and care to 
earth to try their wings, but bearing them aloft upon her back 
above the clouds she shakes them off in mid-air to defy the dan- 
gers and gain the glories of the skies. Like that young bird, 
our dead statesman was shaken off in tender years, but like the 
eagle, he soared above all difficulties. 

Accompanied by a jxirtion of his many faithful friends and 
associates, we took his remains to his native State. At the Cap- 
itol the dead statesman, in the senate chamber where he had first 
had legislative experience, was visited by thousands. The men 
whom he had fought in past years and those with whom he had 
done battle alike came to pay the tribute of their respect to his 
memorj'. The old Confederate was there, the old Democrat, the 
aged Whig, the Republican — all were there, and there was no 
heart that was not sad. Thence his remains were taken to 
Memphis, and there thousands gathered to attend his funeral 
and to witne.ss his burial. Near the great river, in the greatest 
of all the valleys of earth, in the l>eautiful cemetery of the 
.splendid city of Memphis, we laid him to rest. 
Nor shall his glory l)e forgot 

While Fame her record keeps. 
Or tiieinory points the hallowed spot 
Where valor proudly sleeps. 



Address of Mr. B/aiid of Missouri. 8i 



Address of Mr. Bland. ' 

Mr. Bland. Mr. Speaker, the first acquaintance I had with 
the late Senator Harris was after he came to the Senate in 
1877. Senator Harris was, I believe, for most of the time he 
was in the Senate, a member of the Finance Committee. Dur- 
ing this time I was a member of the Committee on Coinage, 
Weights, and Measures in the House. The jurisdiction of these 
two committees often brought us in close relations personally 
and political!}-. 

He became the leader of the Democratic party in the Senate 
in all the great battles for the free coinage of silver and in resist- 
ing the efforts of the opponents of bimetallism in further de- 
monetizing it. During the great battle that is memorable in 
our histor}' as probably one of the most notable in the annals of 
parliamentary debate that took place in the effort to repeal what 
is commonly known as the Sherman Act, the late Senator 
Harris took the leading part; in fact, he was, to all intents and 
purposes, the parliamentary coun.seIor and leader in the Senate 
on the side of the bimetallists. I often saw him in the Senate 
when the questions of parliamentary law were raised during this 
contest take the leading part in maintaining the position of his 
side, and anyone who ever saw him in one of those contests, who 
had an opportunity to obser^•e the great force with whith he 
put his points and the clearness in which he stated his proposi- 
tions and the strong and emphatic language in which he made 
his demonstrations, can never forget the power, both mental and 
physical, that was exhibited bj' the man. Every word came 
from him as a shot from a cannon, and it went to the mark as if 
aimed by an expert. There was no effort at ornate speech, but 
S. Doc. 343 6 



82 Life and Character of Isham G. Harris. 

an immense c-ainionading of loj^fic, ])o\vc-r in statement, and con- 
viction in argument. 

I always regarded liim as a 6rm and determined friend of the 
people as he understood their interests. He was a man who 
possessed great courage, and was not afraid to announce his 
views and opinions on any subject. He had that faith in the 
intelligence and fainiess of the American people to believe that 
a man would lie measured by them according to that degree of 
courage and fidelity with which he fought for the principles that 
he honestly maintained. 

I shall not attempt to give a historical sketch of him. hut shall 
leave that to those who knew him as a neighbor and friend from 
the State which he so long and abh- represented not only in 
official positions at home but in the councils of the Federal Gov- 
ernment. I shall not attempt to enter into a eulog>- upon his 
high character. I could not pronounce a greater eulogy upon 
him than the simple truthful statement that from my knowledge 
of him, extending over a period of twenty years, he impres.sed 
me as a man of great abilit\- and wide attainments; a man of 
undoubted courage and strong convictions, and was alwa>-s 
ready to maintain them; that he was a true friend of constitu- 
tional liberty; that his heart went out to the great mass of 
American people, and it was their interest under the Constitu- 
tion upon all economic questions that he brought all of his great 
ability to promote and subsen-e. His State has lost its greatest 
champion in the national councils; bimetalli.sm has lost one of 
its most laithful advocates in the nation. His loss is felt not 
only in his Slate and throughout the nation as a great advocate of 
this cause, but is regretted by bimetallists throughout the world. 
I speak especially on this question, because it was in the con- 
tests uix)n this subject that I became more intimately acquainted 
with him, and was enabled to form a just opinion of the man. 



Address of Air. Bland of Missouri. 83 

But his labors were confined to no particular subject. There 
was no great question of legislation affecting the interests of the 
people of his State and of the nation that he did not give to it 
his earnest attention, and upon all tlie subjects of the currency, 
tariff, of Federal and State control, of the rights and powers of 
the States as contradistinguished from the powers of the Federal 
Government; in other words, the great dividing line between 
these jurisdictions received his earnest investigation. He was 
.sincerely a .strict constructionist as it is understood and taugiit 
by such leaders as Jefferson and Calhoun and others of the part}' 
to which Senator Harris belonged. His discussions of these 
subjects were marked by great ability and zeal. He was a leader 
naturall}-. He towered above the average man, and by his will 
power and ability inspired confidence in those around him as a 
leader; hence he was a leader in the Senate, and to say that he 
took a leading part in that \mA\ is to pay a high tribute to hi.s 
qualities as a great man. 

Peace to his ashes; honor to his memorv. 



84 Lite and Characler of Isliam (i. Harris. 



ADDRESS OF MR. RICHARDSON. 

Mr. Richardson. Mr. Speaker, when Senator Ish.vm G. 
H.VRKis died I felt a sense of jjersonal loss such as I never real- 
ized iKjfore ill the death of a public man. He was not only my 
jxilitical friend, but my intimate personal friend. In his death, 
therefore. I was conscious of the fact that while the country had 
suffered the loss of a \alued public ser\-aut who.se place could 
not well be filled, that personally I had lost one to whom I had 
been accustomed to look for that counsel and ad%-ice which only 
a true friend can give. I had known him from my toyhood. 
The first time I ever saw him I remember well. It was in 1856, 
when I, a mere youth, went to my county town to listen to a 
joint debate Isetween himself and ex-Governor Neil S. Brown, 
of our State. They were the electors for the State at larj^e that 
year, he representing Mr. Buchanan while Governor Brown 
represented Mr. Fillmore. 

I next saw him the following year, when he was a candidate 
for governor of Tennessee, and had for his opponent Robert 
Hatton. Two years later, as a candidate for reelection to the 
office of governor, I witnessed the joint debate between himself 
and his Whig opponent, John Netherland. He was successful 
in both these campaigns for go\'ernor, and was renominated by 
his party for that office in 1861. During that year as a candi- 
date I heard him in joint debate with his opponent, WiUiam H. 
Polk, a younger brother of President Polk. Inheriting as I did 
the political sentiments and theories of my father, who belonged 
to the old Whig part>-, I of course did not agree with Governor 
H.XRRis in the opinions he gave expression to and in the argu- 
ments he made in those several joint debates which I have 
mentioned. 



Address of Mr. Richardson of Tennessee. 85 

While I did not agree with him, I was greatly impressed by 
him as I observed his intense zeal, his fiery eloquence, his ear- 
nest gesture, and at times impassioned flights of oratory. The 
impressions I derived from his speeches, boy as I was, and fight- 
ing against them as I did by reason of the inherited opposition 
thereto, to which I have referred, made lodgment in ni}- mind 
which was never eradicated. I shall not undertake to follow 
the career of this great man through all his public life in our 
State. Others have done this in their eulogies of him, which 
will appear along with my own. 

He was born in Franklin County, Tenn., Februarj* 10, 1818. 
This countj^ I had the honor to represent upon this floor for 
eight years, though it is not now within my district. At an 
early age he removed to Henrj- County, Tenn., where his 
parents died and are buried. Soon after his death many of the 
people of that county met in Paris, the count}- seat, where he 
had grown to manhood and practiced law, to pa}' tribute to his 
memory. A graceful and loving tribute was then and there 
paid to him bj- his former neighbors and friends. I take the 
liberty of using the resolutions they adopted for certain facts in 
his life and that of his family, which I .set forth below. He 
was the son of Isham G. Harris and wife, Lucy Davidson Har- 
ris, and was the youngest son of a family of nine children. His 
oldest brother, George \V. D. Harris, was an able and eloquent 
minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His brother Will- 
iam R. Harris was on the supreme bench of Tennessee at the 
time of his death, which occurred on the 19th of June, 1S5S, 
from the explosion of a steamboat boiler on the Mississippi 
River. Another brother, James Harris, a gallant Confederate 
.soldier, fell at the battle of Shiloh in April, 1862. 

Senator Harris went to Paris, Tenn., at the age of about 14 
years, and began to work as a salesman in a dry goods store. 



86 Life and Character of fs/iani (i. Harris. 

Three years later he went to Mississippi and engaged in mer- 
chandising in partnership with his brother. After about three 
years he sold out his interest in the store and was paid in the 
notes of a Mississippi bank and returned to Paris with the inten- 
tion of studying law. The Mi.ssissippi bank failed, leaving him 
penniless, and he again engaged in merchandising, studying law 
at night until the year 1841, when he sold his interest in the 
business and entered upon the study of the law. Having 
applied himself closely to his studies while in business, he ver>- 
early secured license and entered upon the practice. He was 
admitted to the bar at the May term of the court in 1841. He 
Ijecame at once a successful practitioner, taking rank as one of 
the best lawyers of the State. 

He was married in 1843 to Miss Martha Travis, of which mar- 
riage there were lx>rn a family of eight children, four of whom 
sur\nve. In 1847 he was elected to the State senate of Tennes- 
see and in 1849 to a .seat on this floor. He was reelected in 
185 1, and was again nominated in 1853, but declined the nomi- 
nation and removed to Memphis that he might find a larger 
field in which to practice his profession. He continued in 
active practice until 1857, when, as I have stated he was chosen 
governor of Tennessee. He was the go\'enior of our State from 
1857 until the war between the States closed. He took a ver>- 
active part in behalf of the Southern States during that war, 
participating in many battles. 

After the establi-shment of peace he went to Mexico, wliere 
he remained alxjut two years, going from there to London, 
where he remained until November, 1867. He then returned 
to Memphis and again entered upon the practice of law with 
great success. In 1876 the State convention placed him at the 
head of the electoral ticket of his party in Tennes.see. His 
selection to this position did not meet with universal favor in 



Address of Mr. Riciiardsoii of Tennessee. 87 

one section of the State. He thereupon resigned as elector, but 
proceeded to make a thorough and extensive canvass of the 
whole State for his part}-. By this course and conduct he added 
great popularity to himself, and at the close of the canvass 
announced his candidacy for the United States Senate. When 
the legislature assembled the following January he was chosen 
Senator almost unanimously. He was reelected a Senator in 
1883, in 1SS9, and in 1S95. 

I .shall not attempt to di.scuss his long career in the Senate of 
the United States, but it is well known of all men that he 
adorned the position and met even,^ requirement of the high 
trust with which he was clothed with earnestness, fidelity, and 
signal ability. He was a great debater, a faithful public .serv- 
ant, and a courageous .soldier. He was the foremost man in 
Tennessee politics during his generation. He posse.ssed fine 
conversational powers, and was a most entertaining companion. 
His manner was sometimes severe and apparently cross, but 
within him there was always sympathy and love for humanity. 
It has been truly said of him that more people are indebted to 
him for favors extended than to any other man who ever occu- 
pied a public office. 

Mr. Speaker, his death was a great national calamity. For 
more than fiftj' years he ser\'ed his countrj' in the State and 
national councils. He held the highest stations the people of 
his State could give him. He had opportunities to accumulate 
wealth, but died poor. He was .scrupulously honest in private 
life and incorruptible in the public ser\'ice. He had all the 
courage of the most courageous, and would have gone to the 
stake rather than yield his convictions of right or duty. He 
was never of those who would follow a multitude to do e\nl. 
He was ambitious, but was not sordid or venal. He loved the 
people, but was in no sense a demagogue. 



88 Life and Character of Ishaut G. Harris. 

His character was ix>sitivt: and admitted of no compromise. 
He was always frank and sincere. He was either for you or 
against yon. He either favored your measure or opposed it. 
You were never in doubt as to whether he favored you and yoiu' 
measure, for guile and deceit were strangers to him. He was 
the chief architect and builder of Tennessee's Democracy, and 
the place he occupied in their hearts can not Ix; filled. His in- 
tegrity was never a.s,sailed nor questioned, and no man ever 
accused him of breaking a pledge or violating a promise. From 
early manhood through a long life and an hotiorable career, 
clothed oftentimes with trusts of the highest character, fre- 
quently taxed to the utmost of his phy.sical endurance, his 
course had been steadily and unfalteringly upward. His can- 
dor, his faithfulness, his .sagacity, his probity, with his integrity, 
honesty, courage, devotion to duty, and his succes.sful career 
entitle his fame to endure and give conspicuous luster to Ten- 
nessee. 



Address of Mr. Meyer of Louisiana. 89 



Address of Mr. Meyer of Louisiana, 

Mr. Meyer of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, vSenator Isham G. 
Harris, of Tennessee, whose nieniory we now meet to com- 
memorate, was in every way a remarkable man. 

He was born in Franklin County, Tenn. , in 181S. 

Sprung from Revolutionarj- stock, a coimtry-bred boy, he had 
no special advantages of wealth, education, or family influence. 
He was the architect of his own fortune. 

At the early age of 14 years, with only a country-school edu- 
cation, he began the battle of life. 

Leaving his home, he settled at Paris, Tenn. , hired himself as a 
merchant's clerk; next entered on business for his own account, 
and meantime studied law at night; then finall}- graduated, 
went to the bar, and began the practice of law at Paris. His 
great industry and energy, which as a business man made him 
successful, soon made him preeminent in his chosen profession. 

The attractions of the political field in a country where the 
people actively control prevailed over the habits and induce- 
ments of legal pursuits. His advancement here was rapid. In 
1846 he was elected to the State legislature; next behold him 
the candidate for Presidential elector in his Congressional dis- 
trict; then elected and reelected to the House; then in 1853 
declining reelection; next. Presidential elector; then in 1857 
elected governor of the State of Tennessee, reelected in 1S59, and 
again in 1861. 

Honors such as these, worthily won, might well fill the meas- 
ure of any man's ambition, but these honors were onlj' the 
prelude to a career which for nearly forty years since has made 
him conspicuous. 

He was the great war governor of the State of Tennessee; 



go Life and Characlcr of Isliaiii G. Harris. 

or^nni/cd ioo.oikd voUinteers for the Confederate ser\Mce; tcx)k 
his own full share of the perils of Ixittle; led a regiment into 
the bloody field of Shiloh; stood by Gen. Albert Sidney John- 
ston, the great Confederate commander, when he received his 
mortal woutid: carried him from the field; and served for three 
years more as aid on the staffs of the generals who successively 
commanded the Confederate army of Tennessee. 

At the close of the war he was for years an exile by reason of 
his distinction and ser^•ices to his State, which made him a 
special mark for slander and malignity. But when, in 1867, 
the abatement of passion finally permitted the step, he returned 
to Memphis, where he again practiced law for ten years. 

In 1877 he was elected a Senator of the United States from 
the State of Teinie.ssee, taking his .seat March 5, 1877. He was 
reelected in 1883; again in 1889, and finally in 1895, ^or the 
term of six years. On the 8th of July last he pas.sed away, full 
of years and full of honors. 

Such a succession of public honors was not the result of acci- 
dent, nor of pertinacity in seeking public trusts. More than 
once he declined public station for private pursuits. He was a 
man of convictions, fearless, bold, uncompromising, and took 
all risks in times of conflict, .strife, disorder, violent prejudice, 
and strong excitement. If, therefore, we find such a constant 
and unvaried tide of success, we nuist study the causes in the 
intellectual and moral force of the man. 

Pursuing this pathway, I find no difficulty in locating the 
cause of his success and popularity. He did not inherit for- 
tune, nor did he ever acfjuire any large means. He .showed 
grit and determination at llie ver>- begiiuiing. He had excel- 
lent busitiess habits; he had the i|ualities of action — the execu- 
tive faculty. 

He had quickness of perception, and, what is far more, ([uick- 



Address of Afr. Meyer of Louisiana. 91 

ness of decision. He had energy, industn-, close application, 
persistence, and the ambition to succeed in everything he nn- 
dertook. 

These qualities told on everything he did. They are largely 
the secret of his success as merchant, lawyer, governor, politi- 
cian, and Congressman. Perhaps the most trying time of his 
life was as governor of Tennessee from iS6i to 1865, and the 
two or three j-ears of exile and straitened means that followed 
the war. But while adversity might come, he was not the man 
to lie down and surrender. His nature was heroic. He tri- 
umphed over adverse fate. The personal and moral heroism 
that bore him to the field of Shiloh and through the perils of 
the war marked his entire career. In peace and in war he was 
a born fighter and a leader of men. 

He exercised marked influence upon his associates and con- 
temporaries. He did not carry Tennessee out of the Union, as 
some would say, but he led in the movement, and gave it much 
of its strength. 

The same influence was witnessed in his career in Congress. 

He was not a great or a learned lawyer. He had given too 
much time to other things to fill a role that is only filled by 
those who give their whole lives to that arduous, zealous pro- 
fession of the law; but he was a good business lawyer. His 
success at the bar can not be otherwise explained. 

He was a clear-headed, logical man, and never neglected what 
he had on hand. As a speaker in the Senate he might not,- 
indeed, be eloquent. His style did not smell of the lamp. He 
did not often speak at length. He did not speak for the sake 
of display or merely to make a speech; but when he did speak 
he was forcible, clear, strong, and convincing. He went at once 
to the turning point of the case. He wasted no words. He 
struck fairly at the shield of his antagonist. He had the ability, 



92 Lite and Clniraclcr of [sham G. Harris. 

if he pleased, to discuss profound aud difficult economic ques- 
tions. His speech some years ago ujwn the silver question was 
regarded as one of the lx:st of that long and able debate in the 
Senate. 

\'ery soon after he came to the Senate Senator H.vkkis was 
placed on very important committees, which he filled up to the 
time of his death. Hut while a hard-working, business Senator, 
he gave special attention to parliamentary' law. He was made 
President pro tempore of the lx)dy, and ver>- often occupied the 
chair. He enjoyed it, and the Senators of both parties were 
glad to have him sit there. They all knew that he was abso- 
lutely fair, impartial, and always courteous and conser^•ative. 

The knowledge of parliamentarj' law, and, above all, the abil- 
ity to preside, is a rare gift. It is a great, a respon.sible trust 
to be the presiding officer of the vSenate or the House of Repre- 
sentatives: and one who worthily, ably, and conscientiously 
fills such a trust has rendered a most important ser\'ice to the 
body over which he presides and to the cause of representative 
government, upon which our public liberties dejjend. 

In private life Senator Harris was a simple, natural man. 
His sincerity and frankness were his most striking qualities, 
but he was also kindly and genial. He did not go out of his 
way to conciliate foes, but he was rarely aggressive, almost 
always conciliatory, and to his friends was true as steel. 

I have said he was a man of con\-ictions. He was always a 
Democrat. He was true to his party, and never went back on 
his flag. He abhorred treachery or duplicity in politics. But 
while a .strong party man, his political foes felt that he would 
never strike them unfairly. They respected and houored him. 
They never doubted his word or questioned his integrity. 

After a long life, in peace and in war. filling many trying 
positions, this plain man of the petiple, simple, natural, strong. 



Address of Mr. Merer of Lotiisiana. 93 

heroic, has passed from our midst, with no stain on his record, 
no page of his life that his friends would wish to blot; honored 
and mourned by his State, and by all who had the good fortune 
to know him. I count it a high privilege to pay this last trib- 
ute of my respect to one on whose career I would willingly 
dwell longer if the work had not been so well performed by 
others. 



94 I-'h' """' Character of Isliaiii (J. Harris. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. McRAE. 

Mr. McRae. Mr. Speaker, the eloquent, affectionate, and 
interesting eulogies to which we have listened make it unneces- 
sary for me to say more than to testify ray personal regard and 
reverence for the gp^eat statesman and Democratic leader who.se 
memory we commemorate to-day. He deserves all of the enco- 
miums bestowed upon him here or elsewhere. 

In many respects he was one of the most remarkable men 
that this countr>- has ever produced. His life was a success, 
and yet full of struggle and adventure. We first hear of him 
as an ambitious, penniless youth of 14 years, struggling against 
those dread jailers of the human heart, humble birth and jwv- 
erty. At 21 a .successful country merchant; at 25 a good lawyer; 
at 30 a leader of his party in the State legislature; at 32 a Rep- 
resentative iu Congress, and at 40 governor of his State. He 
served through the late war as governor of Tennessee, and at 
the same time on the staff of Geu. Albert Sidney Johnston until 
the death of the general at Shiloh. 

The .success of the Union Army made him an exile from the 
home of his birth and the people he loved. After more than 
two years in Mexico and England, he returned to Memphis 
broken in fortune and began again the practice of his profession. 
As soon as the people of his native State were allowed to control 
their elections and vote, the Democrats of that State turned to 
him as their leader. In 1877 he was elected to the United 
States Senate, where he ser\-ed the State until his death. He 
lived almo.st fourscore years, and held oflice for nearly fifty 
years. 

At the end of a career so remarkable and eventful it is pro]x.-r 
that the Congress of which he was a memljer should temporarily 



Address of Mr. McRae of Arkansas. 95 

suspend its ordinarj- labors to pay tribute to his chaiacter and 
find, if possible, the great secret of his wonderful success. He 
was without college education and was an entire stranger to the 
artful practices of the pohtician, but he possessed a strong, well- 
balanced mind and from childhood was not ashamed to work, 
not afraid to tell the truth, and in ever\-thing was direct and 
honest. 

In boyhood, in manhood, in private tran.sactions, in public 
life, in military life, in adversity, in prosperity, in his own coun- 
try, or in exile, his personal integrity and superb courage never 
failed him. He was true to himself. He was true to everj- 
trust reposed in him — to his State, his constituents, and to his 
friends. He was courteous and candid to his foes. He trusted 
the people; they had faith in him. He never betrayed them; 
they never deserted him. He died comparativel}- poor in purse, 
but rich in that which above everj-thing else he desired, the love 
and confidence of the people of this Republic and particularly 
those of Tennessee. 



96 Life and L'liaractir 0/ Isham G. Harris. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Benton. 

Mr. Hknton. Mr. Sjx.Tiker, the first name of a piililic man 
that I ever learned to utter was that of Isham G. H.vkris, or. 
as he was famiharly known in our section of Tennessee, Grekn 
H.VKRis. I was born a constituent of his. He was the first 
public man I ever heard on the hustings. I come of a family 
that did not originally lean to Mr. H.a.rris's views. It was after 
the decay of the Whig party began, in 1854, that my father and 
uncles (declining to become members of the Know-Nothing 
party ) joined fortunes with H.xrris. So that my memories of 
him began as a political opi)onent, but early rijjened into those 
of a political friend and leader. 

The most remarkable thing to my mind as a cliiUl was the 
fascination the man had for me. I always attended, when I 
had permission, the public sjieakings in my own county, and 
especially a.sked the privilege of hearing Governor Harris. 
His head looked to me in those days exceedingly large. He 
was bald when yet a very young man. His eyes set deep back 
in his head and, when animated in debate, were searching and 
commanding. He was not what we call an eloquent man after 
the manner of Haskell and Hayues and Henry, yet there was a 
peculiarity about his expressions, a directness, as if in a steady 
charge, that absolutely fascinated me as a child, and I can re- 
memlx;r well, when I would go home from a meeting, that I 
insisted upon explanations Ijeiug made to me of what was meant 
by certain of his arguments. 

I reniemlx;r, as well as if they were j'eslerday, his great de- 
bates in the fifties, with Governor Brown, General Hatton, and 
Colonel Xellierland, his discussions of "squatter sovereignty" 



Address of Mr. Benton of Missouri. 97 

aud the "Kansas and Nebraska bills," and the attitude which 
he demanded Tennessee should maintain (questions of which I 
as a child could have no understanding), but I was so interested 
by the manner and force of the man that I was compelled to 
inquire the subject of his talk. 

I can remember well when he first became a candidate for 
governor and came into our section of the State. It was a 
remarkable campaign; perhaps not so remarkable as the cam- 
paign ju.st before it, in 1856, when he defeated Governor Brown 
for elector at large, but from the standpoint of national politics 
more important and far-reaching than the great debates between 
Johnson and Henry and Johnson aud Gentry. But in our sec- 
tion of the State it was more important than either of those 
campaigns I have mentioned. Harris was our idol, our polit- 
ical leader. To our section of the State he was neighbor and 
friend, and we were greatly interested in the outcome of the cam- 
paign. The men with whom he debated these questions in 1856 
and 1857 and 1859 were men of the finest character and the 
highest ability and education, and it was a subject of conversa- 
tion and comment among the educated and accomplished Ten- 
nesseeans that Harris always held his own with the most 
accomplished and best learned of the public men of his day. 

As has been before stated, he was what, for the lack of a better 
definition, we call a "self-made" man. That is to say, he was 
without a college education. He had not been trained by anj^ 
literary ma.ster. He had a little of what we call academy educa- 
tion. He commenced life without means and without being well 
equipped in college; but I am told by his confreres that he was 
a student of men aud events rather than of books, though as a 
j'outh he read books. I well recollect hearing a conversation in 
the cloakroom here last winter, by the only man who ever held 
a successful tilt with him in politics, Emerson Etheridge, that it 
S. Doc. 343 7 



98 Lift- and Cluiractir of /s/iain d. Harris. 

was commonly known in Henry County in his lx)yhood days 
that every book Ijcaring upon pubUc questions which could pos- 
sibly be borrowed or bought Harris read; and while he lacked 
college training, he gave all of his spare time to informing him- 
self on the great questions of the day. And when he came out 
into public life, it was a cause of mar\'el among the prominent 
men of the State that on all the questions of interest of that day 
he stood in the forefront. 

I believe, Mr. Speaker, that I do no violence to the glory roll 
of Tennessee when I say that next to General Jackson ISHAM 
G Harris was the most potential figure that has ever lived in 
that State. He had at one period of his life bitter and resent- 
ful enemies. A man of his positive character always has; but 
up against them he had the most powerful, positive, and affec- 
tionate friends of any man who has lived in the State of Ten- 
nessee since I can remember. To him, to his force of character, 
to his indomitable energy, to his tremendous courage, to his in- 
cisive arguments, more than to any other man, and I may say 
than to all other men of the State, is due the jxisition which 
Tennessee assumed in 1861. 

In 1*60 the Democratic party of the State was divided. He 
and Senator Johnson at that time both supported Mr. Breckin- 
ridge. Early in the year 1861 they separated. Governor H.\r- 
Kis insisted that the election of Mr. Lincoln would lead to the 
destruction of State sovereignty and centralization of govern- 
ment. Taking the resolutions of 1798 as his text and Mr. Cal- 
houn as his political guide, he demanded that the State of Ten- 
nessee should follow her sister States of the South. In this 
contention he was met and resisted by the most powerful Demo- 
crat then living in the vState, Senator Johnson, afterwards Presi- 
dent, who led the Union element in the Democratic party. He 
was met by that other powerful element, the renniants of the 



Addi-ess of Mr. Benton of Alissoitri. 99 

old Whig party, led by Brownlow, of East Tennessee, and M. R. 
Hill and Emerson Etheridge, of West Tennessee, all of them 
the brainiest and bravest of men. 

In the first contest, in February, 1861, an election was held 
for delegates to a constitutional convention, as well as to test 
the sense of the people on the question of secession. The ad- 
vocates of secession were defeated by more than 60,000 major- 
ity. But Governor Harris was not dismayed. Under his 
undaunted leadership those who believed that Tennessee should 
join the South kept up the fight. He called the legislature to 
meet in special session. In this connection I desire to call at- 
tention to his justl}" celebrated message to the general assembly 
of Tennessee. 

At this period, Mr. Speaker, far removed as we are from 
those troublous times of civil war, when we can .speak of the 
public questions of that period with calmness and without being 
offensive, I may be permitted to call attention to his message to 
the general assembly of Tennessee in the spring of 186 1. I do 
not believe I ever read a state paper on the sovereignty of the 
States, or the original doctrine of " State rights," as it was un- 
derstood by our school of politics, that was in all of its elements 
so strong, convincing, and conclusive as that message. 

In aid of his irresistible arguments, his energy and his cour- 
age were .so intense that in spite of the fact that Tennessee had 
voted in February, 1861, by a majority of 60,000 to remain in 
the Union, in less than six months the State of Tennessee joined 
her fortunes with the South and became a member of the Con- 
federacy. My attention was not called to Governor Harris's 
message in a serious way until after the war. I procured a cop>- 
of the acts of the general assembly and have it in my librar\-, 
and once in a while I read it, more becau,se of the strength of 
the paper than in memory of its subject. And I saj' to-day that 



ICO Life and Character of Isliam (',. Harris. 

in my oi)iiiiou it is the most i>o\verful argument ever made from 
that standpoint. 

Govenior Harris's distinctive characteristics were "honesty 
of purpose" and "directness of speech." He was a positive 
and affirmative man. He wa.s quick to decide, and forceful and 
lucid in explaining his position. His worst enemy never de- 
clared of him that there was any doubt about where he .stood 
upon any public question. Public men, as we know, nearly all 
at some time bend to public opinion and give up cherished 
views, but Go\ernor Harris fought with the same degree of 
courage public opinion, when he thought it was wTong, as when 
he was leading in the current running his way. He fought and 
won with public opinion against him in 1849, 1856, and 1S61. 
And his last great battle was for bimetallism against a strong 
current. 

He did not study to ascertain the popular side. He only 
waited to convince himself of what was right for the people and 
constitutional. Then he spoke and acted. Secession was as 
unpwpular in i860 and early in 1861 in Tennes.see as it was in 
Illinois. But it did not deter him. He believed that the 
reser\'ed rights of the States were to be invaded and the Consti- 
tution violated, and he acted accordingly. The general belief 
in his honesty of purpose and his force of character, together 
with his powerful arguments, made Tennessee a part of the 
Confederacy. 

There is a potent lesson to young ambition in the life of Sen- 
ator Harris. He was honest — honest in thought, honest in 
speech, honest in private life. His word to his neighbor was 
suflBcieut. This made him strong with the people. And he 
believed in the people. Like his great political master, Jeffer- 
son, he trusted the people, and they in turn trusted him. I 
knew fiovernor H.vrris well in niv lx)vhood davs. He was 



Address of Mr. Benton of Missouri. loi 

often in my town. I lived within a stone's throw of his illus- 
trious brother, Rev. George W. D. Harris, one of the strongest 
and most distinguished men in the Southern Methodist Church. 

Force of character and integrity of purpose is and was in the 
name. It has been said of the Harris name that there was no 
compromise in them. It has been stated often that the dead 
Senator was dogmatic. Mr. Speaker, what man of strong mind, 
g^eat force of character, information, and positive convictions 
but what is more or less dogmatic? And yet with all, this great 
forceful, driving man, when properlj' approached, was as gentle 
as a woman. I was not taught to regard Governor Harris as 
a jurist of equal merit with his brother. Judge William Harris, 
or Judge William B. Turley. But he was a ver}' successful 
practitioner of the law. His character for honestj% his forceful 
and positi\-e way of approaching everj'thing made him a success 
at the bar. He did not study rhetorical art, hence did not rank 
with the orators of Tennessee. He did not delve deeply into 
the philosophy of the law, so as to become a great judge, for, 
as has been well said by the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. 
Meyer], "the law is an exceedingly jealous mistress, and will 
not permit her votaries to become great who worship at any 
other .shrine." Yet, Mr. Speaker, Governor Harris was one 
of the best lawyers I have ever known who was also a success- 
ful politician. 

While he was not a great orator, he had that character of 
speech which is the best eloquence. He persuaded men to his 
wa}- of thinking by his integrity of intention and his simple but 
forceful expression. He was a successful politician without 
veiling any of his opinions. Isham G. Harris was more than 
a politician. He was a statesman. That .splendid term as 
applied to him is deser\-ed. He believed that the fathers of the 
Republic builded the Constitution to guard the rights and 



I02 Life and Character of Isliam G. I/arris. 

contribute to the happiness of the people, and so Ixrheving he was 
a "strict constructionist." His last struRRle was to restore to 
the {xrople "bimetallism," their constitutional right. He spoke 
that which he thought; he acted his convictions; he thought 
not for himself but for his people. Of such are statesmen. 
Histor)' will say that all in all Isiiam Green Harris was one 
of the ver>- strongest men that ha\'e ever lived in the State of 
my nativity. 



I 



Address of Mr. Rhea of Kentucky. 103 



Address of Mr, Rhea of Kentucky. 

Mr. Rhea of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, in the public life of 
this countr>', no man has more fully and honorably left the im- 
print of his character and great ability than Isham G. Harris. 
For half a century and more he stood in the fierce light of the 
public gaze, and the universal judgment of his fellow-citizens 
vindicates the integrity of his actions and bears testimony to 
his honesty and manhood. In all the affairs of life, in all its 
walks, as the private citizen, as the public servant, his qualities 
of heart and mind have vindicated the purity of his motives and 
the high purposes that e-\'er impelled his intercourse with his 
fellowmen. 

With that great State, Tennes.see, that so long recognized and 
valued his worth, and which he so long honored as State official 
and in the larger sphere of Federal public service, his name is 
inseparably linked. And whether in the discharge of his duties 
as a State ofiicial or the broader arena of Federal legislation, a 
wisdom and fidelity not surpassed and rarely equaled have 
marked his public career. A singleness of purpose, guided b>' 
the best interests of all the people, as he could understand and 
know them, was the rule of his life. 

For a brief time, laying aside the duties of civil station to 
enter into the more stirring scenes and activities of warfare, the 
same high resolves and purposes, the same fidelit}' to duty as 
he saw it, guided his feet. He saw his people divided — the 
North against the South. He cast his fortunes with the people 
of 'that sun-kissed land that gave him birth and whose rights, 
as he believed, were assailed. When this darkest page in our 
country's history was closed, when the cause for which he 
fought was lost, when the starry banner of the Union floated 



104 Life and Character of hham (i. //arris. 

once more over a reunited country, the roar of cannon, the rat- 
tle of musketry, the ^leam of saljers had ceased, this man, 
accepting the issues as settled, in good faith did what he could 
to heal the breaches made by war and to set in motion again 
the forces of cinl government for the upbuilding of our com- 
mon country. Broad gauged, liberal minded, he still admired 
the beauty of the Southern Cross, but its eflfulgence did not in 
his eyes dim the brilliancy of the Northern Star. Reaching a 
rip)e old age, the sands of life run out. He .slept. How well 
he met the obligations of life, with what fidelity and integrity 
he discharged them, the judgment of the present is known, 
the history of the future will record — 

In his honor iniprejLjn.ible, 

In his simplicity sublime: 

Xo cause ever hail a nobler (i<f<nil<r. 

No principle a purer victim. 



Address of Mr. Broiciiloic of Tcnucssce. 105 



ADDRESS OF Mr. BROWNLOW. 

Mr. Brownlow. Mr. Speaker, one who, at the assembhng of 
this Congress in extra session, had, in the coordinate House of 
Congress, by more than twenty years' service become a famihar 
presence, a potent influence, came not again on our rea.ssembHng. 
We are paying the last tril^ute of respect to one who sen'ed 
longer in the Senate of the United States than has any citizen of 
my State, and whose name will be forever prominently associated 
with her history. 

ISHAM Green Harris played a leading and bold part in 
every prominent national measure for the past forty-seven j'ears. 
He was a very remarkable man and of a famil)- remarkable for 
intellect, one of his brothers having been distinguished as a 
judge of Tennessee's highest court and another as a strong, 
forceful clergyman of the Methodist Church. With educational 
advantages scarcely worth}- of the name, he possessed a felicity, 
fluency, and vigor of speech possessed by few collegians. His 
will power was phenomenal. 

Whether as an advocate before a jury, as a representative in 
this body during the storniN' period of 1850, as governor of Ten- 
nessee organizing and planning for the secession of that old 
Whig, antisecession State from our Federal Union, organizing 
and equipping an army, conducting a political campaign in his 
own State, or organizing for the free-silver campaign of 1896, 
he threw himself into all his undertakings with that determina- 
tion and utter disregard of obstacles which are usually guaran- 
ties of success. 

From his entrance into public life when a very young man he 
was the acknowledged leader of his party in western Tennessee. 



io6 Life and Character of Isham G. Harris. 

When Antlrew Johnson had nearly completed a second terni as 
governor of Tennessee in 1857, the Democratic party with one 
voice turned to Hakkis as their most capable leader, and nomi- 
nated liim for governor; and on the threshold of the successful 
canvass he then made an incident occurred illustrative of his 
character. 

Mr. John.sou had prepared a si)eech which he intended deliv- 
ering and circulating in pamphlet form. H.xkris was asked by 
him to hear this speech read, with the remark that "he intended 
it as the keynote to the approaching campaign." After John- 
son had read his speech to H.vkris, the latter said: " I should 
regret to have you deliver that speech as a " keynote to this 

campaign. Why ? ' ' a.sked John.son. ' ' Because, ' ' said H.VK- 

Ris, ' ' my competitor will Ije sure to read from it in our joint 
di.scussions. " "What if he does?" asked Johnson. "Then," 
replied H.^rkis, " I would denounce it, and, from your and my 
position in our party, it would be \-er>' embarrassing to not onlj' 
ourselves but to our party. In that speech, Johnson, you advo- 
cate a new basis of representation in Congress and the Electoral 
College, eliminating the three-rifths of the slave population now 
represented, and you advcKate changes in the Federal Consti- 
tution by which the President, \'ice-President, United States 
Senators, and the entire Federal judiciary shall be elected by a 
direct \-ote of the people, and the judiciary for a limited period. 
Not one of your propositions can be found in any platfonn of 
the Democratic party, State or national. I am opposed to all 
of them. They are not Democracy: they are only Andy John- 
sonisms, and you can not force them on me as a keynote for 
my campaign." 

For the first time Mr. Johnson encountered within his party 
a will as imperious as his own. He was ardently desirous of 
the election of a legislature which would make him Senator, and 



Address of Mr. Broivnloiv of Tennessee. 107 

as the Whigs had elected the three previous legislatures he felt 
compelled to yield to the ^-ounger leader to prevent division in 
his party, and he failed to deliver the speech he had prepared. 
But there was never any cordial feeling after this between the 
two leaders. Had not Johnson been accustomed to the unques- 
tioning obedience of the politicians of his party he would not 
have made the mistake of trying to put his collar over the neck 
of his younger confrere. He would have remembered that 
H.\RRis was almost the only Democrat of influence in Teimes- 
see who had dared oppose Mr. Clay's compromise measures of 
1850 in the face of the overwhelming sentiment of the people 
of that State in favor of their adoption. 

In 1859 and 1861 he was reelected governor of his State, 
which office he held till the close of the late war, and from the 
inauguration of the rebellion of 1861 until his death his suprem- 
acy was as absolute in his party in Tennes.see as was ever that 
of Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson, and lasted longer than 
that of either. Johnson's began with his election as governor 
in 1853 and terminated in 1861', when he patrioticallj' refu.sed to 
follow his party and State into rebellion. True, he was elected 
to the Senate in 1875 by a majority of only i v'ote, but a ma- 
jority of his part}- voted against him because he had opposed it 
on the war question, and because of this ground of opposition 
the Republicans in the legislature voted for and elected him. 
The supremacy of Andrew Jackson in Tennessee politics began 
in 18 15, with his .superb victory at New Orleans, and terminated 
in 1836, when the people of the State became weary of worth- 
less "wild-cat" local bank money and free trade. Johnson's 
domination in his party was for a period of eight, Jack- 
son's twenty-one, and Harris's thirty-six years and imtil his 
death. 

Of the large number of able men in the executive chairs of 



lo8 Life and Character of hham G. Harris. 

the States, North and South, with the inaiiKuraiion of war in 
1861, no one of them was possessed of more determinalion than 
the governor of Tennessee, or of as much executive abihty, 
except the great and lamented war governor of Indiana, OHver 
P. Morton. It was tlie expression of the London Times that 
the most plausible justification of the reasons for the action of 
the seceding States was made by Governor Harkis in his mes- 
sages to the legislature of Tennessee in 1S61. Unsound and 
sophistical as I regard his reasoning to have lx:en, it is a fact 
that in tlie labor demanded of him as the governor of a State 
reluctant to secede, and divided in sentiment as Tennessee was, 
he showed such herculean energ>' as to entitle him to a position 
among the first of the forceful meti of that era of forceful men. 
What Governor Morton was to his State and the Federal Gov- 
ernment, that was Governor H.vkkis to Tennessee and the 
ill-fated Confederacy. 

At no time did he .shrink from any responsibility, however 
perilous; any lalx)r, however arduous. Although prior to the 
election of Mr. Lincoln he was recognized in Tenne.s.see as the 
ablest man of his party except Andrew Johnson, yet it was as 
governor of that State he liecame a national figure. The rapid- 
ity with which he organized 120,000 men for the Confederate 
army, despite the fact that 40,000 Teinie.s.seeans enlisted in the 
ITiiion Army, stamps him as a man of extraordinary executive 
ability. In an account of the battle of Shiloh, by Col. William 
Preston Johnston, son of Albert Sidney, in the Century Maga- 
zine for February, 1885, the writer .says his father's army "was 
weakened by the nece.ssity of keeping thousands of troops in 
Ea.st Tennessee to overawe the Union population of that sec- 
tion, .so as to guard the only line of railroad communication 
between Virginia and Tenne.s.see. ' ' 

He says further, " This hostile secliim i)onctrated the heart of 



Address of Mr. Brownloiv of Teimessee. 109 

tilt Confederacy like a wedge and flanked and weakened Gen- 
eral Johnston's line of defense, requiring as it did constant vigi- 
lance and repression." And he adds that, of all the executives 
in the vast territor}-, "an empire in extent," constituting the 
department of Albert Sidney Johnston, ' ' the onlj' governor who 
furnished his State's quota of troops was Governor Harris, of 
Tennessee. ' ' These words are in reph' to the criticisms of Gen- 
eral Johnston by Southern newspapers for the loss of Forts 
Henry and Donaldson and tlie retreat of the Confederate army 
from Bowling Green and Nashville, and were intended as a vin- 
dication of that distinguished officer, but it will be seen that the)^ 
are at the same time a high tribute to the executive abihty of 
Governor H.IRRIS and to the unflinching loyalty and heroism of 
the Union patriots of East Tennessee, with whom the Governor 
had to contend. 

Xor were Senator Harris's activities confined to recruiting a 
large army. During nearly the entire war he served as an aid 
on the staffs of the various commanders of the leading Confed- 
erate army of the Southwest, periling his life for a cause he 
deemed just — a feature of his character wherein he differed from 
nearly all the political leaders who aided in precipitating the 
civil war, for history records that these gentlemen almost invari- 
ably preferred bombproof positions to the perils of the battlefield. 
Had he chosen arms for his profession he might have made a 
great general, and rivaled the fame of that distinguished soldier. 
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, on whose staff he served. Whatever 
Generals N. B. Forrest, William B. Bate, B. F. Cheatham, John 
C. Brown, and others did for the militar}- fame of Tennessee 
and for their mistaken cause is largely to be shared b\- their 
coadjutor, the chief magistrate of Tennessee. And to the 
arbitrary and herculean labors of Governor Harris to force 
the highlanders of East Tennessee into a service abhorrent to 



I lo Ltfc and Character oj Jsham G. Harris. 

their consciences is largely to be attriljuled the most heroic 
and sublime manifestation of physical and moral courage and 
patriotism recorded in the annals of American histor>-. 

But when this "man of blood and iron" attempted the coer- 
cion of the descendants of the heroes of Kings Mountain and 
New Orleans he encountered a people whose courage and deter- 
mination were equal to his own, and who so far from yielding 
to his imperious will, backed up as it was with regiments and 
brigades, furnished to the Ihiion Army a larger numlxrr of sol- 
diers, in proportion to population, than any section of the 
United States; and I take pride in stating that I represent a 
district whose quota to the Federal Anny of white soldiers 
exceeded that of any district in the Union. And these loyal 
heroes and their leaders. Generals Samuel P. Carter, Joseph A. 
Coojier, Alvan C. Gillem, James P. Brownlow, and others did 
as much for the military fame of Tennessee as did the heroes 
and their leaders of the opposing side; and after Tennessee's 
vast mineral and other resources shall have been developed 
under free labor, the verdict of impartial history will be that 
they loved their State as well and served it lietter. Thus from 
the crosses of war came the heroes who have shed imperishable 
fame on Tennessee. "Wine issues from the trodden grape; 
iron is blistered into steel." 

With the downfall of the ill-fated Confederacy, for whose suc- 
ce.ss he had performed such herculean labors, Governor H.\rris 
retired from participation in public life until in October, 1869, 
when he came to Nashville to aid in the defeat for the United 
States Senate of his old rival and enemy, Andrew Johnson. 
With the termination of the war an incident occurred illustra- 
tive of Senator H.vkkis's personal integrity in connection with 
the public funds of the State, and I give ihe facts somewhat in 
detail l)ecause they have been distorted and misrepresented by 



Address of Air. BroTcnlow of Tennessee. iii 

certain of his political and personal opponents and in turn by 
those who would do injustice to Republicans. 

The school fund of Tennessee in 1S62 amounted to $2,679, - 
01S.33, all deposited in and constituting a part of the assets of 
the Bank of Tennessee. In 1862 the Confederate legislature of 
the State directed that this fund should be invested in Confed- 
erate bonds, and it was so invested. That was an end of the 
Tennessee antebellum school fund, as at the close of the war the 
Confederate bonds were without value. In these assets, before 
the}' were removed south on the approach of Buell's army to 
Nashville, was $720,380.94 in coin. The fact that the reports 
of the bank on January i, 1862, showed this sum in coin among 
the assets is probably the basis of the unintentionally untruth- 
ful statement that has been often published that $700,000 of the 
assets were turned over to the State authorities in 1865 and 
wasted. But the truth is the coin so turned over amounted to 
onlj' $446,719.70. Part of the original sum was paid in salaries 
of State officers, part of it loaned before its return to Nashville, 
as the receipts in the boxes showed. These receipts and mem- 
oranda accounted for the difference between the $720,380.94 in 
coin, as shown by the report of January i, 1862, and $446,719.70, 
the amount returned to Nashville and turned over to the State 
authorities in 1865, less the necessar\' expenses incident to their 
return to Nashville. 

By act of the legislature of Januarj^ 9, 1865, the governor, 
secretary of state, and comptroller were directed to invest the 
coin so returned, the $446,719.70, for the benefit of the school 
fund. In obedience to that act 7-30 United States bonds were 
bought, and the premium on gold being large at that time, the 
bonds purchased amounted to $618,250. These bonds were in 
the custody of the State treasurer, R. L. Stanford. In violation 
of the law, which required that they be kept at Nashville, he 



112 Life and Character of Isliam G. Harris. 

depositetl them iti a Memphis national bank which subsequently 
failed. When the action of the treasurer Ixrcame known, the 
governor, by authority of the legislature, sent a committee to 
Memphis which recovered for the State $368,433.85. How 
much of the remainder, $249,816.15, has been recovered. I can 
not say, as there has not lieen a final termination of some litiga- 
tion growing out of the matter. The treasurer, when detected 
in his violation of law in sending the.se bonds away from the 
capital, was the president of a Johnson political club in oppKJsi- 
tion to the reconstruction ixjlicy of Congress. He was not a 
Republican or ex-Confederate. He had lx;en an officer in the 
Federal Army, and owed his election as treasurer to the influ- 
ence of his personal and political friend, President Andrew 
Johnson. When his ofFen.se was made public the treasurer 
committed suicide. The probabilities are he had not intended 
to become a defaulter. He thought to speculate on State funds 
without the State losing by it. 

When the war ended, Senator H.vkkis left the I'nited States, 
going first to Mexico and then to England. In 1866 he returned 
to Tenne.ssee. Had he not been an honest man, he could have 
taken as much of this coin with him as he and his servants 
could have carried on his overland trip through Texas to the 
City of Mexico. 

Totally differing from him on the leading que.stions of cur- 
rency and tariff, and above all on the injurious consequences of 
his teachings in favor of .secession, I do not think that the final 
influence of his energies, talents, and courage uj)on the public 
mind of his State and country will be beneficial. But never- 
theless there was much in him to admire. His directness 
of purpose, his courage, his scorn and contempt for jMjlitical 
trimmers, his generosity to the poor (for his purse was ever 
open to them ), his industry, his iron will — these were excellent 



Address of Mr. Brozcnlozc' of Tennessee. 113 

qualities, and to them he largel)' owed the great popularity he 
had with the people of Tennessee and his success in public life. 
But there were some questions on which we had kindred sym- 
pathies. For the oppressed people of Ireland, for the struggling 
patriots of Cuba, for the vindication of the rights of American 
citizens in foreign lands, he had strongly pronounced opinions. 
And our S5'mpathies were kindred in opposition to that greatest 
of modern humbugs, miscalled " civil-ser\'ice reform." Senator 
H.-VRRis was too manly to pretend to fa^•or the law while secretly 
endeavoring to have it violated, but he was openly opposed to 
this un-Democratic, anti-Republican system of life tenure in 
office holding. He was as much iu favor of honesty and effi- 
ciency in the public service as the pretentious people who shout 
loudest for reform. He knew that — 

A man may cry Church! Church! at ev'ry word 

With no more piety than other people — 
A daw 's not reckoned a religious bird 

Because it keeps a-cawing from a steeple. 

We live too near the great "war in which he was so potent a 
factor and the party strife growing out of it to expect that all 
should do justice to his good qualities of head and heart. He 
was as little influenced bj- a personalh- revengeful feeling as 
any man of positive opinions I ever knew. He could hate what 
he believ'ed to be political heresy and yet cherish kindly per- 
sonal feelings toward those whom he knew held such views. In 
this respect he was more liberal in spirit than many of the lead- 
ers of his party or of his provincial supporters in the lowlands 
of middle and western Tennessee. 

Senator Harris was not a man of education or culture as 
these terms are usually understood, nor was he an orator accord- 
ing to the generally accepted definition of that term. He was 
what neither education nor culture nor oratory can make — he 
was a tireless and fearless worker. He was not a scholar as 
S. Doc. 343 8 



114 ^-'J'' "'"' c //;?/(/,/< ;- oj Jsiiaiu (j. Harris. 

implying knowledge of books, but in a larger sense he was not 
untaught. He had a niar\'elous knowledge of men and how to 
control them. His speeches were terse, \'igorous, full of enthu- 
siasm. They were practical, dealing in facts, never above the 
comprehension of the popular assemblies he addressed, and cal- 
culated to produce the effect which is lx)th the puqxjse and 
result of true oratory — that of challenging attention and pro- 
ducing conviction. 

In breadth of intellect I do not think he was equal to Jackson, 
White, Grundy, Bell, or Johnson, who preceded him in the Sen- 
ate, but a.s a party organizer and leader he surpa.ssed them all. 
As an organizer of campaigns he never had an equal in Tennes- 
see, and often during the past ten years his party would have 
been badly beaten under the leadership of any other man. 
Tennessee has furnished more names that stand high on the 
national role of honor than any State save \'irginia and Massa- 
chusetts. Not to mention Tennesseeans who, like Claiborne, of 
Louisiana; Sharkey, Yerger, and Cocke, of Mississippi; Gwin, of 
California; Tipton, of Indiana; Sevier, of Arkansas; Benton and 
Barton, of Missouri; Henry Watterson, of Kentucky; Houston, 
of Texas, and Commodore M. F. Maur>-, who attained influence 
and celebrity, either local or national, in other States, Ten- 
nes.see has given to the National Go\'ernraent a uumlx;r of Pre.si- 
dents and Cabinet officers entirely out of proportion to its 
wealth and population. 

We have furnished one Secretary of the Treasurj', two Secre- 
taries of War, one Attorney-General, and four Postmasters- 
General. To this Hou.se Tennessee has furnished two Speakers 
and to the Senate two pre.siding officers, one of whom was 
IsH.\M G. Harris. Besides having had three Presidents, 
Tennessee has had two unsuccessful candidates for the Presi- 
dency, each (if whom received the electoral votes of several 



Address of Afi-. Broivnlow of Tennessee. 115 

States. We have had two associate justices of the Supreme 
Court of the United States. In addition to this Tennessee has 
furnished manj^ representatives to the diplomatic service. But 
of this brilliant galaxy few were equal in force of character and 
ability to the late Senator Harris. His political convictions in 
the most important period of his life were on trial in the midst 
of remorseless war, when thousands of his friends were going 
down before the iron tempest of battle. He should be judged 
by the times in which he lived. That he possessed many manly 
qualities none can deny. 

" Let us pass him to the grave as we would ha\-e others pass 
ourselves, forgetting the frailties incident to our nature and 
which appear to be inseparablj' connected with our being. ' ' 



Ii6 Life auff Character of I sham G. Harris. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Clarke of Nev/ Hampshire. 

Mr. Ci„\RKK of New Hampshire. Mr. Spjeaker, I did not 
know that arraiigenieiits liad Ijeen made to-day to pay tribute 
to the memorj' of the distingui.shed statesman who most ably 
and honorably and for so long a time represented the great State 
of Tennes-see in various high oflBces, or I should have prepared 
a suitable eulogy to his great fame and memorj'. But I can not, 
sir, allow the opportunity to pa.ss without at least paying a word 
of tribute to the name and fame of Senator Harris. It was not 
my good fortune to know him closely as a companion or as a 
friend; but I thought I knew him as an able Senator and states- 
man, as a rugged, sturdy, honest man; and yet, as a member of 
the funeral party which accompanied the remains of the distin- 
guished Senator to his late home at Memphis, when I ap- 
proached the confines of the State which he had so honorably 
repre.sented I .soon learned my mistake — I then a.scertained that 
I had but partially and imperfectly estimated the man. 

When we reached the State of Tennessee, I found that his 
friends were legion and that they had all abandoned both busi- 
ness and pleasure and were present to pay their sad tribute to 
his fame, to his memory, and to his greatness. I rememtjer the 
large concourse of people that met us at the capital of the State 
and the distinguished honor that all seemed anxious to p)ay to 
the statesman's memorj-. Rich and poor, high and low, every- 
body, seemed to be the friends of Senator H.vrris. They knew 
his work, they knew the great and valuable serv'ices that he had 
performed for them in his representative capacity in many ways, 
and they were there to add their last tribute to the great man 
who had lx:eu called beyond the borders that no eye can pierce. 
And when we reached his liome, there was an impre.s,sion made 



Aaddress of Mr. Clarke of A'ew Hampshire. 117 

upon me that I shall never forget. I remember that distin- 
guished gentlemen, representing all departments of business, all 
vocations in life, all professions, turned out as one man to meet 
the funeral part}- and to shed a tear at the loss of their neighbor 
and their friend. I remember, Mr. Speaker, as we entered that 
great church and took our places within the chancel the words 
of his pastor and that beautiful sen-ice of song, the words of 
which ring in my ears even to-da}': 

Lay him low, lay him low; 
Under the clover,- or under the snow. 
What cares he ? He can not know. 
Lay him low, lay him low. 

Mr. Speaker, we did lay him low; we accompanied his re- 
mains to that beautiful field of the dead, and I remember as the 
sun went down beyond those great shade trees that he had 
helped set out, and amid the scenes he loved so well, that we 
did not lay him into a cold, damp, stuffy grave, but rather in a 
repository that was literally smothered with flowers, brought 
there by people of all ages, all distinctions, all colors; and I 
said to myself, "Surely, Senator Harris, it is blessed to die 
under such circumstances as these, when all 3-our neighbors and 
friends have come here, with one accord, to pay their sad tribute 
to your memory, aud are saying, ' Well done, thou good and 
faithful ser\-ant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.' " 



Ii8 Life and C/immltt of I sham G. //arris. 



Address of Mr. Sims. 

Mr. Sims. Mr. Speaker, the first jjuhlic men that I have any 
recollection of hearing mentioned were Governor Ish.\m G. 
H.VKRis, President Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, and Jefferson 
Davis. I was only 8 years old, but rememljer distinctly hearing 
my father speak in the highest terms of Governor Hakkis, 
although m>' father was an intense Whig. 

I went out to Camp Alger a few days ago, and it reminded 
me of the first gathering of volunteer soldiers that I ever saw, 
thirty-seven years ago, assembled at the call of Governor Isham 
G. Harris, of Tennessee. When those volunteers of 1861, 
those that were left of them, returned to their desolate and 
ruined homes in the spring of 1865, my childish heart prayed 
that the day might never come again in the history of this 
country when there would be a call for volunteers to go forth 
to fight other \'oluuteers of our own lilood and brotherhood; 
and, thank God, so far that prayer has been an.swered. 

After so much has been said of the life and character of Sen- 
ator H.YRRis by those so much more able and better fitted to 
do justice to his fame and memory, I feel great delicacy in 
attempting to speak here to-day, for fear that I may rather 
detract from than add to the interest of the occasion. 

Senator Harris's early years were sf>ent in the laeautiful and 
intellectual little city of Paris, the county seat of Henry County, 
noted then, as at present, for its pubUc men of national reputa- 
tion. Such a home and surroinidings were well calculated to 
develop the talents of the young and ambitious Harris. While 
his home was at Paris he was twice elected to represent that 
district on this flixir. His beloved wife died there only a short 
while before the death of her illusirions hnsh.md. 



Address of Mr. Sims of Tennessee. 119 

On account of the long and intimate association of Senator 
Harris with the people of the Eighth district of Tennessee, I 
should feel that I had not discharged my full duty if I did not 
at this time and on this occasion give some expression of the 
esteem in which he was held by his old friends and associates. 

Senator Harris was in public life almost continuously for 
over fifty years, and in all that time never suffered even a tem- 
porary defeat, while at times he had to and did overcome an 
adverse party and political majoritj*. Of how few of our suc- 
cessful public men can the same be said? While courteous and 
affable, he was not that character of man known as a good elec- 
tioneerer, a good hand shaker. He was rather blunt and plain in 
his manner and address, but always sincere and candid. He 
was a man of great moral and physical courage. He was not a 
political diplomat. He never .sought to accomplish his purposes 
by scheming or machine methods. He spurned an attempt at 
indirection. 

It was never charged against him that he belonged to anj- 
political ring or that he was in any sense a party boss. His was 
a most positive character, bordering on the dogmatic. He had 
enemies, as all such men have, but he was never revengeful. 
He never sought to popularize his views bj' other means than 
clear and forcible arguments, terseh' stated. He used no circum- 
locution, no confusing platitudes. When he stated a proposi- 
tion, no one, however simple or untutored, could possibly mis- 
understand him. 

While there is perhaps no single great legislative enactment 
bearing his name, there was no man in the Senate during the 
last twenty years who had or exerted a greater influence in the 
national legislation of that period than Senator Harris. There 
was no man in the Senate of the United States during his long 
period of ser\-ice whose word was more implicitly relied on. No 



I20 Li/f and CIniiactcr of I sham (J. Harris. 

one ever questioned bis sincerity or honesty. It is useless to 
give details or circumstances to justify this statement, as no 
enemy, jiersonal or political, ever (|Uesti(jned his liDiior or integ- 
rity. 

While Senator H.^rris was twice a nieniljer o\ this Ixxly, 
three times governor of Tennessee, and twenty years a Senator, 
all the details of his public career have been so fully statetl by 
others who have gone liefore me that it is unnecessary that I 
should make further mention of them at this time. I suppose 
that if all his acts of usefulne.ss during his long and eventful 
public life were stated in detail it would require volumes to con- 
tain them. 

Senator Hakkis was endowed with a most remarkable mem- 
ory. I will ask the indulgence of the House to relate an in- 
cident that goes to show how great a memor>' he possessed. In 
the campaign of 1876 Governor H.vrris and Gen. William B. 
Bate, now the honored senior Senator from Teiniessee, were to 
deliver addresses at an old-fashioned Democratic rally and bar- 
becue held in Linden, Tenn., then and now my home. 

I was selected, together with Dr. S. A. McDonald, to go to 
Waynesboro, the county seat of Wayne County, 30 miles dis- 
tant, and pilot Governor H.vrris through the countr>' to Linden. 
Dr. McDonald and I were on horseback, while Governor H.vrris 
and his son were in a buggy. About halfway between Waynes- 
boro and Linden, while riding some 200 yards in advance of the 
buggy, we .saw a covey of birds by the side of the road. 

Dr. McDonald alighted and picked up a stone, threw it into 
the covey, and killed two of the birds. We waited until his 
bugg>- came up and gave the birds to Governor H.\rris. We 
went on to within S miles of Linden, and .stopped over at the 
home of Dr. McDonald for lunch and to feed and re.st the horse 
the Governor was driving. The birds were at once dressed and 



Address of Air. Sims of Tennessee. i2i 

cooked, and Govorner Harris ate them. Twenty years after 
this date, at the time Senater Harris was elected to the Senate 
for the fourth consecutive term, I was in Xashville and with 
Gen. M. H. Meeks, called on Senator Harris at his hotel to 
pay our respects and to congratulate him on his election with- 
out opposition. 

I had not met him since that trip from Waynesboro to Linden. 
At the time I piloted him through the country as above stated I 
was very thin in flesh, but at the time I met him at his hotel I 
had become stout. When I presented myself, the Senator took 
me by the hand and looked me steadily iu the face, as was his 
custom. I said to him that I was the young man ' ' who, twenty 
j-ears before, had piloted him from Waynesboro to Linden," and 
asked him if he remembered me. He replied "Oh, yes, I do; 
and I remember those birds that Dr. McDonald killed and that I 
ate for my dinner that day." 

The incident had long passed out of my mind, but the Senator 
remembered it quite well. He then gave every incident and 
detail of his visit to Linden, and what occurred after he arrived, 
and the names of old friends he met while there, and related all 
that took place on the day of the barbecue, with nuich more 
circumstantial detail than I could have possibly done. 

Onl\- a short time before his death I heard him go over the 
details of court trials in which he had been engaged that had 
taken place more than fifty years before, giving all the minute 
particulars as though they had occurred only the day before. 

For man3^ j'ears before he died he was regarded b\' the whole 
people of Tennessee with the warmest feelings of affection. He 
was lovingly called "the old Senator." When "the old .Sen- 
ator" made a promise, no one ever entertained the slightest 
doubt but that he would most faithfully keep it. 

No public man has passed from this life within the last fifty 



122 /.//<• and Cliaracltr of' Isliam (i. Harris. 

years who was so universally inourned throiijjhout the State of 
Tennessee as was Senator Hakkis. Expressions of heartfelt 
and sincere grief knew no jiarty lines. At an informal meeting 
which took place at the Ebbitt House, in this city, on the night 
after his death, was gathered every Tennesseean in the national 
capital to give fitting expression as to the great loss our beloved 
State had sustained in his death. 

In that meeting were men of all shades of ixilitical opinion. 
In that meeting were men gathered together from the highest 
to the lowest walks of life. The gray-haired statesman of wide 
national reputation .sat beside the humblest Department em- 
ployee, all drawn together by a common sorrow; all grieving 
over the loss of a loved and cherished friend. No one could tell 
who was republican or Democrat in that assembly, but anyone 
could easily see that all were sincere mourners. Such di.stin- 
guished Republicans as Hon. A. H. Pettibone, Hon.W. P. Brown- 
low, Gen. George H. Maney, and many others were present and 
took conspicuous part in the proceedings, all evincing a genuine 
and unaffected sorrow. 

No man that ever lived had truer friends than Senator H.\k- 
KIS. and no man ever lived who was more faithful and devoted 
to his friends than was Senator H.\kris. 

Though dead, yet does he live. His life and teachings are 
to-day exerting a great and lasting ijeneficial influence over the 
minds of our young people. He has left us an example that 
we will do well to imitate. His life and accomplishments are a 
h()])e and a comfort to tho.se worthy and ambitious youths of our 
land who are hampered and cramped by poverty. 

He was in the mo.st literal sense a self-made man. Beginning 
life without money or inBueutial friends at the tender age of 14 
years, by his own unaided efforts he won the highest jxjsitions 
within the gift of the people. He is a conspicuous examjile of 



Address of Mr. Sims of Tennessee. 123 

what can be accomplished in this goodly land of ours hy untir- 
ing effort and perseverance. His life will be a beacon light to 
worthy thousands who are now struggling against the cold and 
chilly waves of adversity and poverty. 

Mr. Speaker, Senator Harris did not live in vain, and he has 
not died in vain. Full of years and honors, he sleeps the sleep 
of the just. 



124 f-'l' """ <~ "'"'''''> "/ hiiani (,. J/iirris. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. DE ARMOND. 

Mr. De Armond. Mr. vSpeaker, I do not know that the 
deaths in the pre.Mint Congress have been more numerous than 
the average in preceding Congres.ses; but it has .seemed to me 
that the stricken ones were miusually prominent. Out of this 
House went that man of long service and great usefuhiess, 
WiUiam Steele Holmau. From the Senate were taken Senator 
Earle, of South Carolina (a new man in the body, but eminent 
in his State), two great Senators from the State of Mi.s,sissippi, 
and the great veteran Senator from the State of Tenne.s.see. In 
these notable deaths our attention has been directed pointedly 
to the fact that a number of great men of the older period, of 
the generation to which but few now li\nng belong, have passed 
from us lately; and scarcely can we hope that the present and 
the oncoming generation will be equal to the task of filling as 
well as they filled the places which they vacated. 

It is not much that I can add to what has Ijeen said in sketch- 
ing the career and outlining the salient points of the character 
of the distinguished Senator from Tennessee. It has Ijeen said 
very truthfulh' that he was one of the foremost men of his day 
and generation — gifted with great ability, a man of superb cour- 
age, a man honest and direct in all his methods. Through a 
long period in the ser\'ice of his State and his country, his tri- 
mnphs liavc been such as but few men reach and .scarcely any 
can rival. 

At first hhish it inij^ht seem to us that, starting as he started, 
]X)or and obscure, is a disadvantage in the great race of life. To 
the comparatively weak, the timid and the fearful e.si>ecially, 
jioverty and the lack of influential family do indeed amount to 
great hindrances — hindrances tli.nt nftt-ii make miscarriage and 



Address of Mr. Dc Ariiioitd of Missouri. 125 

shipwreck of all the voyage of life. But, however it may be in 
other countries, it is true, I think, in this, that a considerable 
portion of the men really strong by nature are made stronger by 
earlj' contact with povertj' and earl)' experience of privation. 
We often look upon the careers of our great men in retrospect 
and say to ourselves that they would have been much greater, 
that their achievaments w'ould have been more marked and their 
success more signal if they had started in life with better advan- 
tages; if their earh^ opportunities had been superior to what 
they were; if family influence had given them aid which they 
were denied. 

I believe, however, that in this country such an idea involves 
a superficial and incorrect view of the possibilities of life and 
the achievements of our great men. In a countrj' like this, 
where the people do their own governing — where the people are 
the great power, the source of all power, and where those who 
fairl}- attain high position and honestly' retain it long must be 
intrenched in the confidence and support of the people — it seems 
to me nothing so well fits a man for an illustrious career, noth- 
ing so securely binds him to the interests of the great masses of 
the people as the hard but valuable experiences in >-outh of a 
life of penury, of toil, of sacrifice. 

This country can attain its high destiny- — the people of this 
country can be measurably prosperous and happj- — only when 
those who administer the laws, those who are clothed with great 
power, capable of great things good or bad, are true to the inter- 
ests of the masses. Steadfa.st fidelitj^ to the public interests 
generallj' can be found in large measure only with those who 
partake of the feelings and sentiments and experiences — who 
enter experimentally into the lives — of the great masses of the 
people. Those who have been brought up in aiBuence, those 
whose early opportunities were great, those who have had the 



126 Life and Characlcr of I sham G. Harris. 

pathway of life made smooth and easy for them from beginniup 
to end — they can not, from the very nature of things, enter into 
the Hves, appreciate the motives, understand the difficulties, 
estPmate properly the rights and the duties of that stern, that 
noble citizenship which belongs to the common people of our 
great Republic. 

With very few exceptions — there are some notable ones — the 
men who have made illustrious the history of this country, who 
have been l)enefactors of human kind in their age and genera- 
tion, who laid the foundations of this Republic and builded the 
nation, who sustained it in times of trial and who will sustain 
it in all the years to come, they have Ijeen and are those who 
came from the plain level of the people — the men with the 
experiences which are common to the masses, and therefore 
with the sympathies which must reside in those who represent 
properly, and who only can thus represent, the great body of 
American citizenship. 

This man was peculiarly strong in that re.spect. His early 
struggles with poverty, his early privations, his early triumphs 
over difficulties which assail so many in a country like ours, 
marked him and fitted him for the great career which he rounded 
grandly. Without high ability, without superb courage, with- 
out unshaken honesty, wi Jiout fidelity to friend and candor in 
dealing with the foe he never could have been as great as he 
was; and perhaps he never could have developed in high degfree 
any of the great, the inestimable, the noble qualities which he 
exhibited if he had not had that stern, hard discipline in youth 
and early manhood in which such qualities are developed if tlie 
germ of them exist at all. 

But a few years ago, Mr. Speaker, when the great party to 
which the departed Senator belonged was considering, away 
back in the school districts, in the .small conventions and the 



Address of Mr. Dc Arviond of Missouri. 127 

chance assemblages of the masses of its people, questions of vital 
party and national -importance; when a great question was 
brought up within the lines of the Democracy to which he was 
devoted as to whether the few or the many should control within 
the party; as to what should be declared as the party creed; as 
to who should be in command and w'ho, for the good of the 
part}', should be retired — I recollect that then he was one of four 
great Senators, men of influence and might in the partj', men of 
influence and might in the country, who were instrumental in 
assembling, in an unofficial way, a large number of representa- 
tives of the party in his well-loved city of Memphis, to consider, 
quieth" and as American citizens, what ought to be done, what 
the needs of the party and the country were in the crisis through 
which we then were passing. 

To Senator Harris, Senator George, Senator Turpie, and 
Senator Jones of Arkansas — they are the four whom I remember 
particularly and preeminently — from the standpoint of those 
who think as I think and who try to act as I try to act with 
regard to these great public questions, a world of gratitude is 
due. Then there took form in the great party of which Sena- 
tor Harris was an exemplar and a leader that which was in 
, the minds of the masses. The movement then inaugurated and 
put fairly upon its feet gathered strength and force until a year 
later the efforts of those who thought as he thought were 
crowned with success, and the representatives of the party, 
meeting in national convention, declared at Chicago what the 
true part}- creed was, what the true part}- creed should be. 

Ver}^ much indeed did this dead Senator add to the reputation 
of the State, already great, which he honored and which hon- 
ored him. High, no doubt, will he- rank in all time to come 
among the great men of that great State. High will he rank 
as long as the annals of Congress are read or known among the 



128 Life and L'liaraclcr of I sham G. Harris. 

great men of this nation. He possessed in marked degree qual- 
ities which it has sometimes seemed to me are not too common, 
not too generally found in public men. He was thoroughly 
devoted to any cause in which he was enlisted. He was thor- 
oughly open and direct in his methods, and his position, once 
taken, was held with Spartan tenacity. He may have seemed 
impetuous in advocacy, as has been remarked here this after- 
noon; he may have seemed impetuous in action, but it was the 
impetuosity of courage and conviction. 

The subject considered, the conclusion reached, the die cast, 
he may have appeared impetuous in execution. Nothing re- 
mained but to make known the decision and to act upon the 
lines deliberately chosen. In action there is no time for con- 
sideration of whether there should be action. When the charge 
is sounded there is no time for considering whether it .should 
have been sounded. Senator H.vrris di.stinctively recognized 
this, as every great man in history has recognized it, and acted 
upon it. Careful and cautious in reaching his conclusions, 
thorough in his investigations, his conclusions once reached, his 
determination once arrived at, the time for action once at hand, 
he was impetuous in the charge — there was no halting and no 
hesitancy about his course. He struck home, struck quick, and 
struck hard. It was this quality, among others which he pos- 
sessed in a high degree, that made him the conspicuous figure 
that he was and that he will remain in the histor>- of our 
country. 

Beautiful and feeling tributes have been paid to his memory 
by those who knew him jiersonally far better than I did. Dis- 
tinguished men from his own State have delighted to prai.se 
him by telling the truth about him. Distinguished men 
throughout the land, while they may not have known him so 
well, delight also to join, though far distant they may be, with 



Address of Mr. Dc Ani/oiid of Missouri. 129 

their tribute. And the great mass of the people the country 
over, forgetting whatever faults he may have had — and all men 
have faults — recognized that his virtues triumphed over his 
faults and in their splendid glow obscured them almost entirely 
from view. 

Among all the great men of the land, Tennessee's venerable 
Senator ever will stand as one of the most able, most coura- 
geous, most useful. Such a standing few men attain. Such a 
standing reflects at once honor upon tlie man who attains it; 
honor upon those connected with him b}' blood, by position, by 
association; honor upon the conununity which honors him, and 
which he in turn honors. Such a man, with such standing, 
was IsHAM G. Harris. 
S. Doc. 343 9 



Ijo Life and Characltr o/ Jslunu <,. llmris. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Gaines. 

Mr. (i.MNKS. Mr. Six-aker, Senator Harris was in public life 
many years l^efore I was Ixjrn. I was not privileged to Iw 
.socially intimate with him for the reason that his home was in 
the distant end of the State, but from my earliest cliildhood my 
father taught me to love and respect him, and as I grew to 
manhood I learned to look up to him as a leader, a patriot, and 
a statesman worthy the exalted love of a great i>eople. I have 
frequently a.sked myself, " Why do the people love this man so 
devotedly?" and I found its solution when I came to know him 
and his works better. It was because he never abused their 
confidence. 

No man has ever lived to say that Isham G. Harris deceiveil 
him. I have woudered also why it was that his political foes 
held him in such high esteem, and I have concluded that it was 
becau.se they always knew where to find him and he never struck 
below the belt. He was a man of magnificent courage, phy.sic- 
ally and morally. Never in his long and splendid public life 
did he palter with truth or hesitate between two opinions. He 
dared to be right. What lofty courage it .sometimes requires! 
He never betrayed a trust, and he made candor the cardinal 
principle of his life. 

Senator H.vkris was stricken with his fatal illness shortly 
after I entered upon my duties at this ca])ital, and I was denied 
much of his wise counsel which I had so much depended uj)on 
to equip me for duty here; but as a Teinies.seean and one of his 
constituents and di.sciples I am joint heir to a ricli heritage of 
benefit that flowed out of his great and eventful life. His mind 
retained its vigor initil the last. When the hand of death was 
upon him and he awaited with calm fortitude the dire e\-ent, I 



Ad /rcss of Mr. Gaines of Tennessee. 131 

called upon liim and found him greatly interested in the four- 
days adjournment question then pending, and with wonderful 
precision and almost supernatural clearness he laid down the 
principles involved, which I afterwards found the law books 
verified. He had nol investigated the books; it was intuitive, 
evolved out of his own innate wisdom. 

Mr. Speaker, when this great spirit had winged its flight to 
other spheres, we took up the wasted tenement it had so long- 
occupied and bore it lovingly to Tennessee, where his people 
might do it honor, and the multittides of people, regardless of 
politics, creed, or race, who crowded past his bier bore eloquent 
though tearful testimonial to the universality of that love which 
they all bore him. On that occasion, when the best men of 
Tennessee were assembled to pay tribute to his memory. Col. 
John J. Vertrees, of Nashville, presented re.solutions, which I 
ask to have printed here, together with the remarks he made, 
and I offer them in lieu of further remarks my.self. They pay 
masterful tribute to the memory and deeds of a great man, and 
I ask that they be printed here that they may be perpetuated 
in the forum he so long honored. 



132 Life and Character of Isltam Cr. Harris. 



ADDRESS OF MR. CaRMACK. 

Mr, Cakmack. Mr. Speaker, it was the profound remark of 
a wise old Mohainniedau caliph that men are more like the times 
they live in than they are like their fathers. Mind and char- 
acter are cast in the mold of environment; they take form and 
color from their siirrounditigs; they are fashioned to the hour 
by the plastic hand of circumstance. Types of character come 
and go with the varjing phases of .social, economic, and political 
conditions, of national KTOwth or decay. Times change and men 
change with them. The rough-hewn characters who lay the 
foundations of empire in the midst of pains and perils are but 
feebly stamped upon the lineaments of a .softer age. We are not 
born of the dead past, but are children of the living hour. 
Upon its Procrustean bed the tyrannical present fits each genera- 
tion to its own whim or need . 

ISH.\M G. H.\KKis was a sur\'ival of a type which has pa.ssed 
or is fa.st passing with the conditions that gave it birth — the old 
frontier or pioneer t>-ix;. He was born in the early years of the 
century, when Tennessee was but young in the Union, when 
the smefl of the wilderne.ss yet lingered in the air of its new-born 
civilization, when the character of the age drew its sap and 
vigor from the forest mold. He pos.se.ssed all the essential 
qualities of the hardy and heroic state.smen-warriors who on the 
Watauga and the Cumljerland made a clearing for ci\-iliza- 
tion and free government. He was of the mold and fiber of 
Andrew Jack.son; a character of ma.ssive simplicity, of heroic 
force and clearness; fearless, resolute, masterful, and imjserious, 
he was born to lead, and, by the shci-r fon-i- of his ]K-rson;ilit\ . 
to rule. 

The com])osition of his nature was \v\\ complex or uuncaie — 



Address oj Mr. Car mack of Tennessee. 133 

its elements were few and simple. To know him at all was to 
know him well. Long j'ears of close and intimate association 
only strengthened and deepened the earlier impressions. You 
were never startled or surprised b}' the revelation of new and 
unexpected traits, except that the softer and gentler side of his 
character was not kept on public exhibition. In his many acts 
of kindness and generosit}-, indeed, his left hand was hardly suf- 
fered to know what his right hand did. Otherivise all his traits 
and qualities were stripped to every eye. 

His intellect was not subtle or ingenious, but robust, vigorous, 
direct, guided always by unfailing common sense. His judg- 
ment was wonderfully swift and wonderfullj- true. He was not 
widely or deeply read — though he knew accurately the political 
history of his own country — but he knew men, and he under- 
stood the springs of human action. 

His long public career, unbroken bj- a single defeat, is worthy 
of study, for it is stored with les.sons to the ri.sing generation, in 
which may be learned the secret of failure or success. He lived 
a life full of stormy conflicts, in which were given many a hard 
and bitter blow — blows which left behind them lasting enmities 
and uuforgi\-ing animosities. Yet from the first to the last of 
his long career victory chnig to his standard, and amid all the 
g^eat and rapid political changes of his time popular confidence 
never wavered from the man who adhered with stubborn, de- 
fiant, combative tenacitj- to his earliest creed. 

Manj' a man his equal in intellect and in many other quali- 
ties of leadership would have gone down in any one of the many 
storms through which he passed triumphantly and with honor. 
His success was a triumph not so much of intellect as of charac- 
ter. The people had marked him as a man worthy of confi- 
dence, and he justified their faith, not by seeking to find and 
follow the popular opinion, but to instruct and guide it. He 



134 . /-(/'■ end Character of J sham (i. I farm. 

dealt with perfect candor both with individuals and the public. 
He was, I Ijelieve, the most truthful man I have ever known. 
Mis statements of fact were never colored or warped from the 
line of accuracy by prejudice or self-interest. 

Perhaps the highest tribute that could be paid him is to be 
found in the negative fact that, though he lived for years under 
the full blaze of a pa.>i.sionate and hostile criticism, no accusation 
tainting his honor has ever adhered to his fame. No charge of 
double-dealing, of deception, or even of a lack of full and perfect 
candor was ever laid at his door. His bitterest foes have been 
forced to admit that Isham G. Harris was a man to Ije trusted 
when he had given his word. 

Such qualities as the.se won and retained for him througliout 
all his stormy life the un.shaken confidence of the people. He 
had few of the arts of a popular politician. His manner was 
lacking in warmth and cordiality, and, except to those who knew 
him well, he often seemed distant and reserved. With a mar- 
velous memory for fact and incident, he had a poor memor>- for 
names and faces, and he never affected to remember a face he 
had forgotten. 

His enemies, who could not or would not understand his suc- 
cess, attributed it in large measure to his matchless skill in the 
management of a well-organized machine. Yet in truth no man 
e\er profited less by such methods. His methods were perfectly 
open, straightforward, and direct. He made no promises. He 
sought no alliances. He wrote few letters and made few sug- 
gestions as to the management of his own political affairs. He 
went straight to the people and appealed to them from the 
hustings, and there he won all his battles. 

No man in Tennes.see was ever more powerful or effective as 
a public speaker, and he was preeminently so in joint discussion, 
where all the latent ]K)wer and fire of his nature were stirred by 



I 



Address of Mr. Carmack of Tennessee. 135 

the presence of a strong antagonist. In the days when the 
Whig and Democratic parties in Tennessee possessed an unusual 
array of briUiant orators, Isham G. Harris wasthe peer of the 
best. He met in joint debate such ma.sters of political contro- 
versy as Neil S. Brown, Robert Hatton, John Netherland, and 
others, and no antagonist ever bore away from him the prize of 
combat. He was not a phrase maker or a rhetorician, but he 
possessed the faculty of sinewy, terse, incisive speech, with in- 
tense earnestness of manner, an impressive deliver3^ and a gift 
of plain and logical presentation. His manner of public speak- 
ing may be described as argument, warm and glowing with 
earnestness and passion. 

In the discharge of public duty he was rigidly conscientious. 
He loved to do things well — not brilliantly or with splendid 
dramatic effect, but well. It was not enough for him to gain 
the approval of his countrymen. His conduct and the results 
were subjected to the merciless analysis of his own judgment 
and .scrupulously tested by his own estimate of the scope and 
measure of his duty. 

It would not be true to say that he took no thought of his 
own fame; but no man ever made less effort to gain a factitious 
popularity. No man ever did less purely to win public ap- 
proval. He did not delight in the applause of the moment. 
He valued onlj' that solidly built esteem formed to endure the 
impartial criticism of the future and against which the pitiless 
years may beat in vain. 

He trusted the people as implicitly as they trusted him; he 
trusted not ov\y their good intentions but their intelligence and 
capacity for .self-government. Believing, with never a shadow 
of doubt, in the truth and righteousness of his own principles, 
he was never apprehensive as to his own political fortunes. But 
even to the people he never stooped his high, imperial crest. 



136 Life and Character of Jsliavi 1 ,. J /arris. 

He never wheedled them nr crinjijed to or flattered them. His 
kingly manhood stood erect in the pride and dignity of its 
character, and he faced the people confidently and without fear. 
It was a confidence both in himself and in them. 

He was never troubled with doubts. H is opinions once formed 
were never clouded by any vague misgivings. His beliefs and 
his purposes were alwaj's as clear as the noonday to his own 
mind. He never groped in the fog or stumbled in the dark. He 
knew his way and walked with confidence. 

In the course of his long and eventful career the fiber of his 
character was many times put to the sternest trial. When the 
war of sece.s-sion l)egan. he was serving his second temi as gov- 
ernor of Tennessee. He was a thoroughgoing secessionist. He 
believed in secession, lx)th as a constitutional doctrine and as a 
practical remedy. He l)elieved that it was impossible for the 
Union to endure and the institutions of the South to be pre- 
served, and with characteristic courage he accepted the inevi- 
table. Teiniessee was slow to yield to the secession movement, 
and Senator Harris's enemies have often said that he dragged 
it out of the Union against its will. Certain it is that the tre- 
mendous force of his per.sonality was a powerful factor in bring- 
ing the State under the banner of the Confederacy. 

As governor of Tennessee his resourcefulne.ss, his marvelous 
energy, his intuitive judgment and decision of character, his 
thorough knowledge of men, his genius for administration, made 
him the greatest war governor of the South. In spite of the 
fact that his capital was in the hands of the enemy and that a 
large part of his State wAs loyal to the Union, he gave to the 
Confederacy ioo,ooo.soldiers thoroughly organized and equipped. 
It had been his purpo.se upon the expiration of his term as gov- 
ernor to take command in the field; but because his succe.s,sor 
could not be inaugurated owini; '•■ I'l inital bi-imr i" the 



Address of Mr. Car mack of Tennessee. \'i>l 

hands of his enemy, he served as governor to the end of the war. 
He was, however, with the army of Tennessee from the time of 
the fall of Nashville, rendering gallant and conspicuous service. 
He was volunteer aid on the staff of Gen. Albert Sidney John- 
ston at the battle of Shiloh, and in the thick of all that bloody 
fray. He rallied in person a Tennessee regiment which was 
retreating in di.sorder and led it back to the position from which 
it had been driven. He was by the side of General Johnston 
when fatally wounded, and bore him from the field. 

The end of the war found him broken in fortune, an exile 
from his country, the proscribed representative of a ruined 
cause. But he returned to face the new duties, problems, and 
responsibilities of the hour, and he faced them with courage 
and practical wisdom. It was not in his nature to repine. He 
cherished no illu.sions as to the results of the war. He .saw 
what had been irretrievably lost and what might yet be saved 
from the wreck and ruin. He turned from the dead past with 
sorrow and faced the future with high resolve. His deare,st 
hopes had been entwined with the fallen Confederacy; but he 
knew that the cause he loved had died on the field of battle and 
he did not withhold his beloved from the grave. Thenceforth 
the destiny of his people was to be cast with the Union, and 
under its flag and law its future must redeem its past. To the 
Union, therefore, sincerely and ungrudginglj', he gave his re- 
newed allegiance. 

He reentered pulilic life as a candidate in the Presidential 
election of 1876. His name was in that 3'ear presented to the 
Democratic convention as one of the electoral candidates for the 
State at large. There developed in the convention an unex- 
pected opposition to his candidacy. There was still some preju- 
dice against him among the "Old Line Whigs. " There were 
those who feared that his conspicuous activity in the secession 



138 /.///■ and I liaraclcr 0/ I sham (,. J /arris. 

movement would alienate a considerable body of Union Demo- 
crats, and there were the usual number of pusillanimous spirits 
who always visit the blame of their misfortunes ujxjn the leader 
of the unsuccessful cause. 

All these sentiments found voice in the convention. He was 
nominated in spite of this opposition, but, stung to the qr.ick. 
he appeared before the convention and in a speech full of patri- 
otic fire declined to allow his name to he the cause of di.scord 
it) the ranks of his party. All opposition was swept away in 
the enthusiasm which his speech evoked, and in spite of his 
declination the convention again selected him by an almost 
unanimous vote. He adhered, however, to his decision and 
announced that he would canvass the State on his own respon- 
sibility. So effective were the .series of sjieeches which he 
delivered in that memorable campaign that by the time the leg- 
islature assembled there was not an opponent to dispute his 
election to the Senate. 

U])on his subsequent career I need not dwell. It is enough 
to say that during all the years of his .ser\'ice in the Senate he 
held fast to his fundamental conception of Democracy, a strict 
construction of the Constitution. To that doctrine, as to the 
Ark of the Covenant, he fixed his faith and hope. 

During all these years he was the acknowledged leader of the 
Teiuie.ssee Democracy, infallible in coiuicil and invincible in the 
field. The growing infirmities of age never dimmed his mind, 
weakened his intellectual energies, or abated his zeal tor the 
principles he loved. 

In the great battle of 1896, though weakened by disease, his 
interest in the campaign burned with unwonted energy and 
power. Perhaps it was Ix'cause he realized, as I know he did, 
that amid the tunuilts of the next Presidential contest, the 
"thunder of the captains and the shouting." his \n\cc would 



Address of Mr. Car)nark of Tcniu'ssee. 139 

not be heard. He felt, like Ossian, that this was the "last of 

his fields." He determined to give the last remnant of his 

.strength to liberty and the people. 

Charge once more, and then be dumb; 
Let the victors when they come, 
When tlie forts of folly fall, 
Find thy body by the wall. 

His last da^'s were characteristic of the man. He had known 
for weeks that death was upon him. He accepted it serenely 
and without a murmur. It is natural for men when the hope of 
life has passed or is passing away to seek consolation in the sym- 
patli\' of those about them, to touch their hearts to pity by allu- 
sions to the dread event, and find a wretched comfort in the sor- 
row of their loved ones. Not so with him. He trod the wine 
press alone. For long weeks and months he looked steadily in 
the face of the king of terrors, and his own .stout heart, which 
had su.stained him through life, sustained him in death. Calmly, 
silently, and heroically he awaited the "inevitable hour." 

A character both unique and great has passed. His conquer- 
ing spirit, his iron will, his brave and true and generous heart, 
will be with us no more amid the scenes of this mortal life. In 
the soil of his own beloved State his a.shes have been laid to 
rest, and sorrow's tears will keep green Iiis grave, while love 
and honor will .sentinel the hallowed spot where he sleeps his 
last, long sleep. We may not hope to see another who can 
draw his bow or wield his sword, for "he was a man, take him 
for all in all; we shall not look upon his like again." 



140 Life and Chaiacl,r 0/ /.Ji,t»i (,. Iluiris. 



Mr. Haktman. Mr. Speaker, once again ha.s the Hou.se of 
Representatives lieen called ujwn to pay the tribute of its re- 
spect to one of the distinguished servants of the Republic. 
Senator Isham G. Harris, whose memory we revere and whose 
death we sincerely regret, was one of the strong, original, and 
patriotic characters of the present generation. 

But few men in the history of the Republic have been called 
upon to fill so many and varied places of responsibility as he. 
In no place of public trust which was assigned to him was there 
ever the suggestion (if the failure of the full performance of duty. 
In the great and momentous conflict of 1861 to 1865 he took his 
place where his conscience told him his duty lay, and while I, 
like many others, am entirely convinced that his decision was 
wrong, yet no one who knew him will ever question the sincerity 
of his Ijelief or the honesty of his purpose. When the great 
strife was over and the disaffections and disagreements of North 
and South were in process of reconciliation, he contributed by 
his counsel and by his example very greatly to the accomplish- 
ment of the desired result. 

In all of his legi.slative career those who knew him best, 
whether agreeing with him politically or oppo.sing him, were 
glad to attribute to his every act the highest and purest motives 
which control public men. One trait of his character which 
stood out most prominent was his positive, aggres.sive, firm, and 
courageous stand upon all questions of public moment which 
had received long and serious investigation at his hands. At 
times .some of his as.sociates were tempted to become annoyed 
at his very abrupt and positive way of giving utterance to his 
feelings, but a more mature knowledge ■>!" his iharartir li.is 



Address of Mr. Hartman of Man /ana. 141 

generally resulted in the conviction among his associates that 
whatever words he uttered or whatever act he performed were 
inspired by the loftiest and most patriotic of purposes. 

Numerous conversations with many of his colleagues in the 
Senate have convinced me that among his associates he easily 
took rank as the leader of that V)ody in questions of parliamen- 
tary procedure and practice. His .speeches upon the great money 
question, the question of the tariff, and other subjects of public 
concern rank among the best delivered in either body of Con- 
gress. The influence of his life and character upon the rising 
generations of the Republic has been and will continue to be 
most beneficial. 

Through all his long career of public service, extending from 
a time prior to the late war up to the day of his death, his repu- 
tation for integrity, for patriotism, for courage has never been 
doubted. 

These are the three most essential and most desirable traits 
of character to be po.ssessed by a public man. It is fitting, then, 
that the Congre.ss of the United States should, by the adoption 
of the resolution presented, pay this their last tribute of respect 
to the memors' of this distinguished man. 



142 Li/f and Cha racier of hluuh 



ADDRESS OF MR. SULZER. 

Mr. SiLZHK. Mr. Speaker, we meet t<i-clay to jKiy a fitting 
and a de.served tribute to the memory of the Hon. Isham G. 
H.VRKis, late a Senator from the State of Tenne.ssee. He was 
a great man in many re.sjjects. He was an honest man, a true 
man, and a fearless man. He had a most remarkable and event- 
ful career. I knew him and admired him for his great and 
sterling qualities of head and heart. He was one of the plain 
peoi)le. He stood for the rights of man, he battled for the 
mas.ses, and he championed the cause of equal rights and equal 
opportunities for all. For over half a century he was an heroic 
and a prominent figure in the life of the Republic. 

The story of his life has been eloquently and truthfull_\- told 
here to-day by those who knew him best and loved him most. 
That story is a book that every youth in all the land should 
read. The history of the life of Senator H.xrkis will Ije an 
incentive and a bright star of hope to every boy and every man 
struggling with poverty, with adversity, and with adverse cir- 
cumstances. He demonstrated that success is toil, hard work, 
and struggle; that if >ou want to progress you must plod on 
and on. 

Senator H.vkkis was a man of few words, but those words 
were always eloquent, sincere, direct, and they spoke and tneant 
volumes. He always told the truth; he did not Ijelieve words 
were made to conceal thoughts. He had no cant, no chicanery, 
no liy])ocrisy; he loved truth for the .sake of truth; he loved 
justice for the sake of justice. He was no pretender; he never 
dissembled; he cared naught for expediency. He was a man 
of noble impulses, with a high .sense of honor and an unblem- 
ished character. He was not ahvavs rii;lit; he made mistakes 



Address of Mr. S II leer of Xeze York. 143 

in human ways like other human beings, but they were the 
mistakes of the head and not of the heart; his heart was ahva^* 
true, and he alwaj's did his duty as he saw it; he never flinched. 
He had few principles, few rules of life, few maxims, but those 
he had he adhered to with bulldog tenacity. 

He did not believe in compromises. He did not believe in 
halfway measures. With him a thing was either right or wrong. 
He tested ever}' proposition in the crucible of experience, of 
truth, and of justice. If it could not stand the te.st, he had no 
use for it; he was then open and aboveboard a.gainst it. He 
alwaj's had the courage of his convictions. Xo one ever doubted 
where he stood on anj- question. 

He was Tennessee's gjand old man for the last two decades 
of his life. He was born on her soil, and lived within her con- 
fines nearly all his life. He was one of her greatest sons and 
the product of her own free institutions. He loved his State, 
and his State loved him. He stood by her people, and they 
always stood by him. For years he was their popular idol, and 
during his long and stormy political career he never met with 
a political defeat when he submitted his cause to them and 
appealed to the people of his own State. The people of Ten- 
nessee knew him, thej' loved him, thej- revered him, and the}' 
honored him as they have few men in the history of that grand 
old Commonwealth. He deserved it all. He never betrayed 
their confidence. He was true to every trust confided to him. 

He was a sterling Democrat, a disciple of Thomas Jefferson 
and a follower of Andrew Jackson. He li\'ed in early life in 
their day. He knew their principles, and at all times he .strug- 
gled for them and fought for them most tenaciously. He could 
not surrender principle. He loved the Constitution; he believed 
in a strict construction of it and in the reser\'ed rights of the 
sovereign States. He believed in a government of the people. 



144 ^-'.1' """' CJiiiracltr of hliam G. Harris. 

aiul he lx.-lievetl thu jieople could Ix- trusted and were capable of 
Sfclf-goveninient. 

He was a robust man, of great physical endurance, and capa- 
ble of great mental exertion. He was a busy man, a hard- 
working man. His life work is a great monument, more endur- 
ing than marble and bra.ss, of human effort, human endeavor, 
and human accomplishment. He exhausted every subject he 
considered. He went to the Ixjttom of every proposition, and 
by etenial and fundamental principles determined whether it 
was right or wrong. He took nothing for granted — he proved 
all things. 

He was a self-made man. He graduated from no college, but 
from the university of hard work and experience. He knew 
books and he read books, but he knew men and read men bet- 
ter. He was at home in nature, and he was a past master in 
human nature. He understood the motives, the hopes and 
the fears, the passions and the prejudices of men. He was 
not narrow-minded, not bigoted; he was broad, liberal, and 
charitable. 

He thought for himself. He had opinions of hi.s uwn. Ik 
was a direct, a positive man. 

He had enemies, he made enemies; but for every enemy he 
made by rea.son of his inflexible character and his positive a.sser- 
tion of opinion he made a thousand friends. What forceful, 
tx)sitive man ever lived without enemies? A man without an 
enemy is a man without an opinion, and generally without a 
friend. 

He lived long before the great conflict of States and long 
after. He was always an active man, a go-ahead kind of a 
man, and during all his long career he was a part of the life and 
history of his country. He made history. He met Xapoleon's 
test — he did something. 



Address of Mr. Sit her of Nezv York. 145 

He was born on the lotli day of February, 18 18; nearly eighty 
years afterwards he died in harness, a Senator in Congress from 
his native State. He died in the capital city of his country on 
the 8th day of July, 1897. During all those years what a busy 
life was his! 

The story of his struggles and triumphs, his reverses and suc- 
cesses, his poverty and his progress, his joys and sorrows, his 
trials and troubles, is one of the most interesting and instruct- 
ive in biographical literature. It has been well told here to- 
day by man}' gentlemen more fluently and more eloquently than 
I can do. His life was a busy one, an exciting one, replete with 
incidents that read like a romance. 

At the early age of 14 a clerk in a country store, at 21 a 
merchant doing business for himself, a few years later a lawj'er 
with a good practice. Then a member of his State legislature, 
then a member of the House of Representatives, then twice 
governor of his State, then the war and the days that tried 
men's souls. In 1877 he was elected to the United States Sen- 
ate, where he remained the balance of his life. It would take 
volumes to tell what he saw, what he did, and what he knew. 
What wonders have been accomplished during the fourscore 
years he lived! What a marvelous story of growth, of prog- 
ress, of development, of expansion, of invention, of social evo- 
lution and commercial revolution! In all the history of the 
world there is nothing like it, nothing to equal it. Senator 
Harris lived and was a part of all this. He grew with events. 
He kept abreast of the times. He never lagged behind. He 
was always a leader. 

His career in the Senate of the I'nited States is remarkable 

alike for length of service and for dut>- well performed. He was 

a good debater and one of the best parliamentarians that ever 

lived. For man}- years he was the Democratic leader in that 

S. Doc. 343 10 



146 Life and C/mraittr oj Isiiam (j. Harris. 

branch of the National Legislature. In the great duties which 
devolved on him he was zealous, patient, and untiring. He was 
an indefatigable worker, and had the faculty of accomplishing a 
great deal in a short time. He was seldom absent, never n»;g- 
lected a duty, and his name is recorded on nearly ever>' roll call. 
He realized his responsibility, and brought forth all his powers 
to intelligently and faithfully carry out his mission. No State 
ever had a more zealous and a more conscientious representative. 
All his life he stood for true Democracy, but in the Senate 
he had a mighty field to demonstrate the principles of Jefferson, 
Monroe, and Jackson and display his varied talents and profound 
knowledge. 

He is dead and gone, but the great work he did lives in a 
thousand acts and volumes of Congress. That incomparable 
work is his enduring monument, and will live as loug as the lan- 
guage in which it is indelibly written. He will live, too. in the 
memory of thou.sands and thou.sands whom he help)ed and l)e- 
friended in innumerable ways. His life was a running chapter 
of kind and loving deeds. He knew a good deed lives and a 
kind act never dies. 

He lived to a ripe old age. He died in the fullness of time — 
after his course was run, after he reached the goal. Looking 
back over the long vi.sta of his eventful and exciting life, he had 
few regrets. His la.st moments were calm and placid. Sur- 
rounded by his friends and his loved ones, this grand old man 
yielded back the life and quietly and peacefully was gathered to 
his fathers. 

In his death a nation nionrned. and the Stale that gave him 
birth and all his honors put on the garb of .sorrow. Her first 
and foremost citizen was no more. 

This is my tribute, the tribute of Ntjw York, to the great and 
noble dead of Tennessee. 



Address of Mr. Siihcr of Nen' York. 147 

This is my tribute, poorh- expressed, for human words after 
all but poorly express the feelings and the sentiments of the 
human heart. This, then, is my tribute to the memory of 
IsHAM G. Harris, toiler and lawyer, soldier and statesman, 
friend and humanitarian, and above all and beyond all a true, a 
noble, and an honest man, upon whose like we shall not look 
again. 



148 Life and Character of hliam G. Harris. 



HEMOKi.-.L ■:;■.:,:.;.:.:. IKS. 

Mr. W. J. Crawford, pennaneut chairman of the coniinittec 
on arrangements and teniporarj' chairman of the fjreat meeting 
of the people at tlie Auditorium, said: 

L.VDiKS AND Gkxtlkmen: In behalf of the committee 
charged with the preparation of a memorial ser\-ice befitting 
the dignity and character of the late Senator Harris, I take 
the liberty of calling this assemblage to order, and find pleasure 
in presenting the presiding officer on this occasion in the person 
<jf a man who is known, honored, and lx;loved throughout this 
country. 

When in early manhood he served his country in a humble 
capacity in a foreign clime, and still later, when he by his peer- 
less courage and indomitable will won the hearts of his com- 
mand as well as the stars of a major-general, and subsequently, 
when full of years and full of honors, broadened and dignified 
with a ripe experience, he guided the helm of state and repre- 
.sented the Commonwealth in the Senate of the United States, 
he was and always has been prominent and preeminent by rea- 
son of the fidelity, courage, and integrity with which he ser\-ed 
his cause and his people. When the people of this State and 
this country a.ssemble to attest their re.spect for the memory and 
.services of Senator H.vrris, it is eminently proper that he who 
for many years .shared his burdens and his battles should preside 
over the ceremonies, and it is e.specially appropriate on an occa- 
sion such as this that the people should be given an opportunity 
to delicately express their high appreciation of one who has 
always served them with modesty, with manliness, and with 
ability — your senior Senator, Gen. William B. Bate. 

Senator Bate, in assuming the chair, said: 

Having l)een invited to preside over this memorial meeting, 



Memorial Ceremonies. 149 

and as others have been designated to deliver addresses suitable 
to the occasion, it is not expected of me to present other than a 
few words by wa}^ of introduction to that which is to follow. 

Descending from a pioneer parentage, Isham Greex Harris 
was born in that beautiful and romantic part of Tennessee 
where the waters of Elk River flow under the spurs of the Cum- 
berland Mountains, which overlook the picturesque and produc- 
tive valleys of Franklin County. 

By birth, hy early training, by education and development, he 
was essentially, and all in all, a Tennesseeau — and as the bud 
unfolded into the blossom of practical life under the genial and 
inspiring influences of that day which so splendidh' de^•eloped 
Tennessee and Tennesseeaus, his natural attributes and tenden- 
cies strengthened and matured into ripe manhood and clung to 
him through his long and eventful career and, now that he is 
gone, leave a resplendent memory. 

Possessed of strong natural ability that was eminently practi- 
cal, and backed by a will power and energy and an ambition 
that had a .spur within, Isham G. Harris began the battle of 
life. 

The time in which he lived afforded rare opportunities for 
men of metal and merit to push to the front and gain distinc- 
tion, and he readily and rightly availed himself of it. But to 
follow his career would be to go through a large part of the 
history of Tennessee during the la.st half centun,-, and the time 
allotted to introductory remarks will not allow it. 

The chief and culminating point in his history, and that 
which most attracted the public gaze, was the course he took at 
the outbreak of the war, while he was governor of Tennessee. 
The time, the occasion, and the oflfice he held gave him such 
opportunities as have rarely fallen to the lot of man. The)- 
opened the way for service to his countr)' in a great crisis, and 
he gave it courageously, faithfully, and acceptably. 

The keynote which he struck at the outset of hostilities when 
called upon, as the governor of Tenne.ssee, by President Lincoln 
for men and means to use against the South was such a prompt, 
laconic, and emphatic denial that it not only found favorable 



150 Life and Character of Isham G. Harris. 

response in Tennessee, but was applaudetl to the echo through- 
out the South. 

The war being upon us, and the State of Tennessee ha\'ing 
formally seceded from the Union, Governor Harris, as gov- 
ernor, mustered in and organized more than a hundred thousand 
soldiers for the Confederate service. Hence he is known to 
histor>- as one of the ' ' war goveniors. ' ' 

Without going into detail, it is suSicient to .state that from 
the first reveille to the last tattoo in Confederate camps Gov- 
ernor Harris was an active factor in our great unequal contest. 

Being by nature, as he was by profession, a Democrat in its 
broadest and most liberal .sense, he was easily a favorite with 
his people and was one of the leaders who was rarely if ever out 
of touch with them. Hence it was an easy matter for him to 
be elected to anything within their gift. 

Since peace came unto us he was four times elected to the 
United States Senate from Tennessee. The State has honored 
him and he has honored the State. The Senate likewise hon- 
ored him by electing him President pro tempore of the Senate, 
and he thus became its presiding officer in the absence of the 
Vice-President; and in this, as in other official place; held by 
him, he became master of the situation and brought credit alike 
to himself and the office he held. 

In no part of his life was Senator Harris ever a drone in the 
human hive, but an active participant in its make-up and man- 
agement. 

As an actor on the stage of life he played a leading part, and 
when the curtain fell at the close of the la.st act in the drama it 
but removed the actor from sight, leaving fresh and pleasant 
memories of his .sayings and the impress of his doings upon 
tho.se who .saw and heard him. 

But ' ' Thy scythe and gla.ss, O Time, are not the emblems of 
thy gentler power," for even "the Old Guard" must surrender 
to thy inexorable demands. Senator H.\rris, one of the last of 
the Old Guards — and they are getting scarce now — stood for 
twenty years in the Senate a sentinel to guard the Constitution 
of our countrv. But this faithful old sentinel has l)een called 



Memorial Ceremonies. 151 

by the decree of fate from his post of duty, and his mother, 
Tennessee, has put him to rest in her bosom within the sacred 
precincts of your own Ehnwood. 
It is well— 

And if through patient toil we reach the land 

Where tired feet, with sandals loose, may rest, 
Where we shall clearly see and understand, 

I think that we will say, " God knew the best." 

When Senator Bate had concluded his brief speech he asked 
the audience to rise, and then called upon the Rev. Dr. N. M. 
Woods, pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, who offered 
prayer. 

The invocation was impressive, asking the blessings of Heaven 
upon the exercises and praying God that the good lessons to 
be learned from the life of Senator Harris might be impressed 
upon all present. 

Governor Taj" lor made a graceful speech as the representati\'e 
of the State of Tennessee. 

Professor Arnold's orchestra rendered a selection when Senator 
Turpie had concluded. The governor of Tennessee, Hon. Rob- 
ert L. Taylor, was the next speaker, and Senator Bate introduced 
him as the representative of the State upon the occasion when 
citizens of the State would honor the dead who, when living, 
labored so ably and conscientiotisly to honor the Commonwealth 
of which he was a Senatorial representati\-e. Governor Taylor 
was accorded the closest attention while he delivered the follow- 
ing graceful utterance: 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen: I come to drop 
a flower of love and reverence on the grave of Isham G. Harris 
in the name of the State which he served so long and so well. 
If all the noble deeds he has done for his country and his fellow- 
man were flowers I could gather a million roses from the hearts 
of Tennesseans to-night. Whatever else may be said of him, he 
was an honest man. His heart was the temple of truth and his 



152 Life and Characlcr of Isltam G. Harris. 

lijjs were its oracles. He loved his native land, and loyalty to 
the public duty was his creed. He lived a long and stonny life; 
he tlied a hero. 

The summons came to him in the triumphant hour of the 
State, when the centennial liells were ringing out the old centur)' 
and ringing in the new. In the glorious noontide of Tennessee's 
joyful jubilee, when the trunij>ets of peace were pouring out the 
soul of music on the summer air, he heard the solemn call of 
another triunpet, which drowned all the melodies of this world. 
He .saw the .shadow of an invisible wing .sweep across his pillow, 
a pallor came over his face, his heart forgot to beat; there was 
only a gasp, a sigh, a whispered " I am tired," and tired ej-elids 
were drawn like purple curtains over tired eyes; tired lips were 
closed forever; tired hands were folded on a motionless breast. 
The mystery of life was veiled in the mystery of death. 

What is life? What is death? To-day we hear a bird sing- 
ing in the tree top; they tell us that is life. To-morrow the 
bird lies cold and .stiff at the root of the tree. It will sing its 
song no more. They tell us that is death. A babe is born into 
the world. It opens its glad eyes to the light of day and smiles 
in the face of its loving mother. They tell us that is life. The 
child wanders from the cradle into the sweet fairyland of youth 
and dreams among its flowers. But soon youth wakes into man- 
hood and his soul is afire with ambition. He ru.shes into the 
struggles of real life and wins his way from the log cabin to 
the gubernatorial chair. The lightnings begin to leap from the 
gathering clouds of war; the live thunders begin to fall around 
him, but he stands like a lion at his post, and when the dreadful 
shtx:k at Shiloh comes, where the flower of Tennessee are rush- 
ing to glory and the grave, through the rifted smoke I see him 
kneeling on the bloody field with the jjeerless AUjert Sidney 
Johnston dying in his aims. 

At last his flag goes down in blood and tears. He is exiled 
from his country, but the clouds soon clear away and he returns 
in triumph, to be clothed by the people with greater power than 
ever before, and to sit like an uncrowned king in the highest 
council of the nation, until his raven locks turn white as snow. 



Memorial Ccrcntoiiics. 153 

But the scene shifts again, and as we are called from our rev- 
elry to stand around the coffin of our matchless Senator, there 
are tear stains on the cheeks of merriment, and mourning muffles 
mirth. They tell us that is death ! 

The song of the bird is the soul of melody, and the laughter 
of the child is the melody of the soul. The joys of youth are 
the blossoms of hope; manhood gathers the golden fruits. But 
death robs the bird of its song and steals laughter from the lips 
of childhood. Death plucks the blossoms of youth and turns 
the golden fruits of manhood to ashes on the lips of age. 

Poor bird, is there no brighter clime, where thy sweet spirit 
shall sing forever in the tree of life? Poor child, is there no 
better world, where thy soul shall wake and smile in the face of 
God? Poor old tired man, is it all of life to Uve? Is it all of 
death to die? Is there not a heaven where thy tottering age 
shall find immortal youth and where immortal life shall glorif>' 
thy face? It must be so; it must be so. 

A solemn murmur in the soul 

Tells of a world to be. 
As travelers hear the billows roll 

Before they reach the sea. 

There must be a God. We look up through the telescope 
into the blue infinite and catch glimp,ses of his glory. We see 
millions of stnis flaming like archangels on the frontier of stel- 
lar .space. And still beyond we see on ten thousand fields of 
light crowns and shields of spiral wreaths of stars, islands, and 
continents of suns floating on boundless opal seas. And are 
there no worlds like ours wheeling around those suns? Are 
there no eyes but ours to see those floods of light? Are there 
no sails on those far-away summer seas ? No wings to cleave 
that crystal air? 

Surely there can not be a universe of suns without a universe 
of worlds, and reason teaches us that there can not be a miiverse 
of worlds destitute of life. 

We turn from the telescope and look down through the 
microscope and it reveals in a single drop of water a tiny 
world teeming with animal life, with forms as perfect as the 



154 /,//'• <i>t<^ L Ji<inii/tr of I sham (i. J/itrris. 

hiinini) IxkIv, yet invisible to the naked eye. It can not Ix- 
(lenictl that some power l)eyond this world created them. We 
know that some jiower Ijeyond this world created us. We know 
that they must [Xfrish and that we must die, and we know that 
the power which created them and us and the stars above us 
lives on forever. 

Therefore, .somewhere Ijeyond this world there is infinite 
power and eternal life. Let us hope that Christ, who whispered 
"Peace" to the troubled waters of Galilee, has whisjiered 
" Peace" to the trouijled .soul of our departed Senator, and that 
his tired eyes have opened to the light of a blissful immortality. 

"One sweetly .solemn thought" was the offering of the me- 
morial choir at the conclusion of Governor Taylor's address. 
Senator Bate, when the .singing was at an end, presented Hon. 
John Sharp Williams, a member of Congress from the Fifth 
district of Mi.ssis.sippi, who had l)een innted to represent the 
National House of Representatives on this occasion. Mr. Will- 
iams delivered the following address: 

Mr. Ch.\irm.\k, L.vdies, .\nd Gentlemen: Perhaps the 
best definition of philo.sophy is this, that it is the contemplation 
of death. This means in its utmost analysis that it is the study 
of the inunutable and eternal in thought — in a word, of the im- 
mortal in man — of that which remains as characteristic and as 
establishing identity after what we call death has taken place. 

How far death puts an end to the man as we have known him 
in life will always remain a debated question. Some of us, 
drawing a le.ssou from the acorn, the grain of corn, the pollen 
in the lily cup, the tiniest material thing that is made, can not 
conceive of a moment at which the es.sential man has ceased to 
exist, or his identity has been destroyed. But however skep- 
tical the most .skeptical and materialistic man who differs from 
us may be, there is one sense in which he must recognize the 
tact of the immortality of all men. It is the sense in which the 
man's thought and feeling, his psychical identity, continues 
with and influences others after his death, and often without 



Memorial Ceremonies. 155 

conscious knowledge on the part of those influenced of the 
source whence the mental and moral molding comes. 

In that phase of man's many-sided existence on this earth 
which we call the "public" phase — in the field of political life, 
where the opinions the most are molded and shaped to the gov- 
ernance of all — no man in Tennessee, except Andrew Jackson 
alone, ever influenced other men more during life than Isham G. 
Harris, nor will continue after death to influence them more. 

There was a reason for it. It ought not to be far to seek. 
His position was never doubtful; his voice was never uncertain. 

The man did not know what insincerity and half-heartedness 
were, except in so far as he observed in the lives of others the 
overt acts which proved them to exist. 

Before I discu.ss the philosophy of his life, in the meaning of 
my definition, let me run briefl}' over its events. 

He began life as a man when he was a child of 14. He has 
himself told me of incidents which show him to have been, 
even at that early age, the trusted and controlling adviser of 
his own father, suggesting and executing the family move- 
ments, ordering and prescribing its practical life. Before he 
was 19 he was merchandising successfully on his own account 
among strangers to himself and his family. He not only suc- 
ceeded as a "business man," but succeeded brilliantly, and 
when misfortune came — a bank breaking and sweeping away 
an accumulated competency — the uncomplaining persistency of 
the boy — father here, as alwa}'s, to the man — enabled him at 
once to meet all liabilities and retrieve all losses and lost gains. 
More than that, undisturbed hy misfortune, marred by disa'ster, 
he executed his closely nursed desire to study and practice law. 
The exigencies of his business did not interfere with the execu- 
tion of his purpose, nor did his stud)- of the law interfere with 
his determination to make a success of his monej' making to the 
limit of becoming independent. He was never a lover of money 
for its own sake, agreeing with Burns that he wanted money — 
Not for to hide it in a hedge, 

Not for a train attendant. 
But for the glorious privilege 
Of being independent. 



15'j Li/c and Character of I sham G. Harris. 

Yet thus early in life he showed his ability to make it, if he 
chose. Many so-called "business men" — fellows who think 
that God made men that men might make money — oblivious of 
this episode of his life, criticising Governor Harris's position 
on a great jjublic question, have said deprecatingly: "Oh, he is 
a politician; he is not a business man." There are only two 
mistakes in the criticism; first, the assumption — the innuendo — 
is false; it is not true, it is eternally false, that a man must 
have devoted his life to piling up money for him.self before he 
can Ije presumed to comprehend the science of money in its 
relations to trade, values, and the public good; and, .secondly, 
the jx)litician, in this particular ca.se at any rate, did jxj.ssess all 
the insight, practical .sagacity, and organizing methods of the 
typical bu.siness man. Had he chosen to remain in that walk 
of life and to make the accumulation of dollars his life work, he 
would have distanced his critics. 

ENTRY INTO POLITICS. 

Not only did he Ijegin man's work in private lite when almo.st 
a child, but he had taken a place in public life when almost a 
Ixiy. As early as 1S47, when comparatively a young man, he 
was elected a member of your legi.slature. The manner of his 
entrance into public life was characteristic of the man, with 
whom initiative was never wanting and with whom aggression 
frequently mounted to the level of audacity. A Gordian knot 
in practical politics was to be untied. Like Alexander, he cut 
it. A Whig and two Democrats, each of the latter jealous 
of the other's preferment and insistent on the maintenance of 
his own prestige, were candidates in a district Democratic by a 
close vote. To add another Democratic candidate to the list 
would .seem the acme of folly, resulting in "confu.sion worse 
confomuled," but that is precisely what Ish.vm G. H.\rris 
advised and did, proving then, as he did .so frequently in latei 
life on battlefield and in council, that he jx3s.se.s.sed that rarest 
of all gifts among leaders of men, whether in peace or in war, 
the sagacity to know when to l>e audacious. As Johnson .say.s — 
Wlii-ii desperate ills (leinaiul a speody cure, 
Distrust is cowardice, and prudence folly. 



Alcmorial Ceremonies. 157 

I shall not give you in detail a history of the man's career. 
Suffice it to say, he became from that time ou a tnisted coun- 
selor in party life. In 1849 he went to Congress; remained 
two terms; refused a proffered nomination for a third. There 
was perhaps a reason for this course not at that time perfectly 
clear even to him. It was a da}' of compromise and diplomacy, 
when good men on both sides were striving to forestall foreseen 
calamities — to avoid the humanly unavoidable — disunion and 
war. This young man, then only 30 years of age, was not then, 
nor indeed at any time of his life, even when old age had mel- 
lowed him much, fitted to shine when compromise was the goal 
of leaders and the wish of followers. He thought, to be sure, 
that everything possible in that direction ought to be tried, and 
hence gave his voice to the experiment. But between the lines 
it was soon easilj^ to be seen that this decisive and incisive intel- 
lect had no confidence in conciliators- makeshifts, however 
patriotically intended, but would be found when the time came 
with those who, like Yancey on one side and Seward on the 
other, announced themselves openly as being ' ' in line of battle ' ' 
for "the ine\atable conflict" — to them plainly, recognizably 
inevitable. Until other men saw how ' ' coming events cast their 
shadows before," his best place was in private life. He had no 
u.seful place in public life. 

In 1S56, when nominated as Presidential elector, he began to 
speak out the thought which had become clear in him. It was 
then that he took the at that time bold position for practical 
politics that the Union was a mere means to an end, a contriv- 
ance of our forefathers to secure the liberties and lives and pro- 
tect the property of the people; that when it ceased to subscribe 
those ends, or either of them, much more when it became a 
threat to the least of them, it was time to cease to regard it with 
superstitious awe and to seek to substitute for the means which 
had failed some other and adequate means. In a word, he was 
enlisted as a disciple of John C. Calhoun, driving his theories of 
right to their irresistible conclusion in action. Nor did he, 
foreseeing the possible issue, dread it as an alternative. 

Among all the disciples of John C. Calhoun there has never 
been one who was better fitted by boldness of temperament, log- 



158 Liff iiiiii r /Kiiiiiii r iif Jsmtiii <,. Jlnrn's. 

ical directness, and sympathy of intellect to carry his theories 
unswervingly to their practical, necessan.-, and unavoidable con- 
clusions of fact. Long after these theories had been shattered 
on the battlefield, during the Fifty-fourth Congress, Governor 
Hakkis, speaking of the i)ublic men with whom his loug career 
had made him acquainted as factors- in poUtical thought and 
work, brushing the other men whom we had been discussing 
aside as, after all, of small estimate, said: "But the greatest 
mind and the greatest man political life has ever furnished was 
John C. Calhoun." Such was his estimate of the great logician, 
the great apostle of State rights and local .self-government. 

H.VKRIS IN HISTORY. 

But to pa.ss on. 

History was made rapidly in those days. In 1857 Ish.vm G. 
H.\KKis became chief executive of this great Commonwealth. 
In 1859 and 1861 he succeeded him.self. Those of us who love 
him txrst like to call him "Governor" yet. He was the last of 
the "war governors." Nothing but the fear of the charge of 
invidiousness prevents me from .saying that he was, in executive 
ability, the greatest of them all. 

The Confederacy rose and fell. 

A few years of exile, and in 1S67 he returned to his home 
town and practiced law among you until 1876. From 1876 to 
the day of his death he was a Senator in the Congress of the 
United States. 

I have given this bird's-eye view of a career familiar to you 
all, in order that you and I lx)th might realize liow long Gov- 
ernor H.\RKis has Ijeeu a moving factor, how long a leader, 
iu American politics and during what troublous times. For 
these were the days that stirred men's passions and tried men's 
.souls; first the days of antislavery agitation, the first sounds of 
which had alarmed Jefferson "like a fire lx?ll in the night;" 
then the days of civil strife, when more than Greek met more 
than Greek in the fearful sweat and tug of war, and then, most 
trying of all, the days of reconstruction, when the ver>- ground- 
work of civilization itself seenuil miiUrmiiud, when dav after 



Memorial Cereiiioitirs. 159 

day Southern manhood was huniihated and Southern woman- 
hood was menaced. 

Think of it! This man whose memory we celebrate to-day 
saw almost the birth and saw the end of the greatest constitu- 
tional agitation the world ever saw. His public life was as 
long as the natural lives of two full generations. It lapped 
over in many cases to the third. I know of an instance where 
he ser\-ed in Congress with the grandfather, afterwards dis- 
cussed the constitutional right of peaceable secession with the 
father, to whom he subsequently issued a commission as a 
Confederate officer, and then, long after, sensed with one of the 
present representatives of the family once more in the Congress 
of the United States. There are many families in Tennessee 
with whom he has been similarly associated in public life. 

But why do I wish you to realize the length and variousness 
of his public sendee? Because, during all that long period, 
this man was never once lacking in thought, feeling, utterance, 
or service to the common people, nor to the State of Tenne-ssee, 
nor to the South. Because, most remarkable of all, during all 
that long time, amid all the entanglements of practical politics — 
and it brings strange bedfellows — no man ever so much as 
claimed that this man had broken his plighted faith or been 
lacking in service to an}- friend who had not first been notori- 
ously untrue to himself. Because, during all these generations, 
his enem}' never accused him to another enemy of a misstatement 
of fact or of a deception, and for the simplest of all reasons — the 
other euemj' would not ha^•e believed him. 

No man was ever more soundly hated than Isham G. Harris, 
and he was himself what Samuel Johnson called a ' ' good 
hater," and j^et no man's word was ever more impHcitl}' and 
universally accepted as final in a statement of fact. Tho.se who 
knew him, therefore, were not astonished when, in the city of 
Washington, a bitter Republican Senator from a New England 
State rose to his feet when a bill was pending for the payment 
of a very important claim against the Go^'ernment and, ad- 
dressing the Senate, the following conversation, substantialh-, 
occurred : 



i6o Life and Character of Isliam G. Harris. 

" Mr. President, I would like to ask the senior Senator from 
Tennessee a question. Has the Senator from Tennessee made 
a personal inve-sti^atiou of this ca.se? " 

Senator H.\kkis replied: "I have." 

" Is it the opinion of the Senator from Tennessee that this 
claim is just and ought to l>e paid? " 

Senator H.vkkis rei)lied: "It is." 

"Then, Mr. President," said this Republican Senator, "this 
is sufficient for me, and will, in my opinion, be sufficient for 
the Senate of the United States." 

In all this long period, though many ix;ople thought him 
often wrong, and radically wrong, nolx)dy who understood the 
meaning of the word ever accused him of Ijeing a demagogue; 
that is, of ad\-ocating a measure becau.se it was popular, and not 
because he verily believed in it, or opposing a measure because 
it was unpopular, and not because he verily reprobated it. 

HIS INTKLLKCTUAL POWKR. 

Vou have known men of higher intellectual powers, though 
not many; you have known men — many men — of greater and 
broader educational cultivation, but I have never known a man 
whose conclusions were more logically, unfalteringly, and im- 
personally drawn from his premises, nor one more sincerely 
convinced of the eternal truth — the subjective verity — of the 
basic principles embodied in his premi-ses. But this logical 
faculty, rare and unerring as it was, was not the secret of his 
success nor the mainstay of his greatness. Nor was it his 
power of speech, though this rose at times to the level of that 
of the orator "born, not made" — persuading men's wills as 
well as convincing their judgments. After all, however, he 
persuaded chiefly because he was himself so thoroughly per- 
suaded; he convinced chiefly by the emphatic utterance of the 
unornamented truth, his own convictions being so intensely 
earnest and so palpable to all men. 

There were few men who equaled him in resourcefulness and 
in what may Ix; called intellectual energy. He was simply un- 
tiring, setting for himself, in the seventh decade of his life, tasks 



Miinon'a/ Ccrciiioitics. i6i 

from which strong youth would have shrunk. But this even 
was not the main secret of his power over men. Many men 
have possessed equal intellectual energy and have none the less 
fretted away their una\-ailing lives. Nor can you find the se- 
cret in his remarkable executive or administrative ability — ' ' the 
power to organize," as it is called in this latter day^though as 
a political organizer he seemed all-seeing, aggressive, at once 
bold and comprehensive^practically perspicacious of the charac- 
ters, motives, opinions, and surroundings of men. 

The secret which we seek is to be found in his force of charac- 
ter, resting on the three rocks of his courage, his confidence in 
the common people, and his integrity; chief of all, on the integrity 
of the man — integrity in its etymological sense; that is to say, 
the "oneness" or "wholeness" of the man. His worst enemy 
in his fiercest moment never charged Isham G. Harris with 
duplicity; that is, with doubleness of purpose, or two-sidedne.ss 
of utterance, or half-heartedness in action. It is the opposite of 
these that make a man what he was — an integer, not duplex: a 
whole number, not a half number; a single number, not a mixed 
number — in the affairs of life. 

His ends were single, his means direct. 

In his old age some one a.sked him, ' ' Governor, to what do \ on 
attribute your long success in practical politics?" His reply 
was, " I don't know, unless it be to the fact that I early learned 
the difficult art of telling the truth." "Difficult" is well said 
here, for although Buhver is right wheu he says, ' ' Xo task is so 
difficult as that of systematic hypocrisy," j-et none is more in- 
viting to the ordinary office seeker and officeholder, none ea.sier 
to enter upon. Duplicity, the all-things-to-all-men face, man- 
ner, carriage, and utterance, which is the entrance into the field 
of hypocris}-, is so easy in the beginning. 

Governor Harris carried his directness of purpose and utter- 
ance so far that he did not have even what are called ' ' popular 
manners ' ' to help him on. The little hypocrisies of con\-enance 
even, excusable as they are held to be in the mixed associations of 
public life — even these he scorned to practice. When men said, 
"Governor" or "Senator, I don't believe you remember me," 
S. Doc. 343 II 



i')2 /.//' itiiii iharnclir »/' /s/iani G. Harris. 

his reply was lun the usual formula, "Your face is famil- 
iar, but — '■ etc., unless, indeed, the formula was the very ex- 
I)ression of the very fact. His reply was, "Xo.sir." or " No, 
madam, I do not." His friends have heard him say these 
Words in this way, not once, hut many times, and have seen 
sensible men receive the resjjonse sensibly and many fools gooff 
ofTcnded. 

.\ M.\K\'l-:i.(>rS .MKMOKV. 

He cultivated the habit of accuracy in detail to .such an extent 
that it was marvelous merely as a display of the mental powers 
of memory. His reiietitions of cfjnver.sations, of arguments, and 
of repartee drawn from his many camjjaigns were intended to Ix- 
in letter, word, and ge.slure precisely as they were uttered forty, 
twenty, and ten years Ijcfore. I have heard him relate some of 
these in the office of Harris. McKissick & Turley in Memphis, 
and then, nearly twenty years afterwards. I have heard him re- 
jjeat them in Wa.shington in the same words, with the same 
intonation and emphasis, and frequently with the .same gestures. 
If he had failed verbally to italicize anything he or the other 
inlerl<x:utor had emphasized thirtv years ago, I think he would 
have held himself guilty of an untruth. 

This integrity of character, this thing of being an integer and 
not duplex, of lx;ing one— a whole nundjer, and not a half num- 
ber, nor a mixed number — stood him in nnich need in sore time. 
It .stood him in need in business affairs in the hard days right 
after the war. When the war came he had accumulated over 
$150,000. When it ended he had ab.solutely nothing. I do 
not supjxjse he ever saw the week, from that time until his 
death, or perhaps a few years prior thereto, when he was not 
emlKirras-sed alx)ut ready money, especially small .sums, and yet 
here in Memphis, or elsewhere among men who knew him, he 
could lx)rrow any sum he was willing to promi.se to repay from 
moneyed men with whom " business was business" and not sen- 
timent. The dejiosit of a jiolicy upon his life secured them in 
case of his death, and his noted integrity of character .secured 



Memorial Ceremonies. 163 

Next to the fact of having mastered ' ' the difficult art of telhng 
the truth." the secret of the man's leadership consisted in his 
courage. It was this courage that gave him decision, so that 
he spent little time in doubting and none at all in complaining. 
The "whining yelp of complaint," as some one has called it, 
was foreign to his soul, so foreign that I doubt if the man of 
you all best acquainted with him can fit the expre.ssion of com- 
plaint to his countenance or imagine it modulating his voice. 
He was no Hamlet to have the "native hue of resolution sick- 
lied o'er with the pale cast of thought." He never spent time 
.soliloquizing about "taking up arms against a sea of trouble." 
He simply took them up. 

Hence it was that when old issues were dead he promptlj' 
turned around to face new ones. The old ones he not only 
ceased to talk about, save as one talks of the Wars of the Roses, 
but he seemed to cease even to think alx)ut them, except in the 
historical or reminiscent wa)-. I do not mean by that, of course, 
that truth and right ever ceased to be truth and right with him, 
no matter on which side the banner of might was unfurled. 
But his mind was above all things a practical mind, and the 
aspiration or desire or intention which was demonstrated im- 
possible of consummation had with him practically ceased to 
exist. 

You will remember how the Confederate cause was ingrained 
part and parcel of the man and how he became part and parcel 
of the cause, giving to it everything he had or could control 
except the sacred fund of posterity, the Tennessee school fund. 
He never any more doubted on the day of his death than he did 
on the day of Shiloh that the eleven States of the South had a 
legal and constitutional right to do what they attempted to do — 
peaceably to dissolve their relations with the other States in the 
Union — but when the people of the balance of the formerh- 
United States had exerci-sed their extracon,stitutional "right of 
revolution," and our Government, rightfully or wrongfully, had 
become "changed, altered, and modified," he turned his face 
squareh- about in another direction. " The stars in their course 
had fought against Sisera," and that was sufficient. 



164 /-//'■ ""''' ( Itaractir 0/ /s/itiiii (J. Harris. 



HKI.IKVKI) IN SECKSSION. 

I liavc said that his means were direct, but that he was prac- 
tical and resourceful, and hence he was no stickler alxjut the 
words in which other jieople should express themselves when 
ready to join in the attainment of his end. For instance, he 
was a believer in the dcjctrine of secession, while many others 
(lid not believe that the right existed under the Constitution, 
but l)elieved in what was called the 'Tight of revolution " — the 
right to "change, alter, and modify " a form of goveniment, on 
the theory that "all just government proceeds from the consent 
of the governed." "Call it what you please," reasoned I.sn.\M 
O. H.VRKi.s; "the only difference is that we go out of the Union 
under your theory with the recognition upon our part of the 
fact that there is n halter legally aroimd our necks. In case of 
our failure the enemy can put one there anyhow — constitu- 
tionally or uncmstitutionally. It will be the same thing to us, 
I imagine, whether we recognize its legal right to Ije there or 
not." Of course, you will understand that I am not giving his 
words, but I am expressing in my own way many words and 
acts of his, as I understand them, conden.sed into a sentence. 
As a consequence of this practical, nontechnical trait of the 
man, Tennessee did not "secede," but "declared her indejx;nd- 
ence. " Conceding the means, he attained the end. The two 
roacLs came together; what difference which you traveled? 

As a consequence of this same practical trait, the war, when 
it was over, was o\'er more completely for him than for almost 
any other individual in the Union. He turned to face a new 
war — a war begun for the preservation of civilization, and, as a 
means to that end, for the preservation of white supremacy in 
the South. 

With a people placed lietween civilization — the fruit of all the 
age.s — on one .side and the written law — written with men's 
hands — on the other, the old "war governor," who had .sjient 
at l>est precious little of his time in doubt, sjxfnt now none at all 
in doubt, and none in doubtful utterance. Law is but the voice: 
government itself onlv the bodv; civilization is the es.sence, the 



Memorial Ceremonies. 165 

spirit — the spirit of ages of progress and conquest from rude 
nature and ruder men — a spirit sometimes, alas! misvoiced; 
sometimes misembodied. 

How much he had to do with that magnificent spectacle of 
constancy and luiity, that sublime spectacle of self-mastery, as 
well as mastership over others, which a people subdued in bat- 
tle, and from their battle purpose, but not in spirit, nor in man- 
hood, presented to the world for ten long j-ears; harassed, mis- 
governed, robbed — bearing and forbearing — waiting patientl}' in 
the leash, read}- to spring whenever the opportunity for triumph 
came, and how much to do with the final triumph when it came, 
history, perhaps, will never trul)- tell, but you and I, resenting 
as he did the invitation to come down to the level of an inferior 
race and to "herd with narrow foreheads, ignorant of otir race's 
gains," will, I hope, never forget. 

Most of us spend 20 per cent of our time in arriving at conclu- 
sions and 10 per cent later on in reviewing them and in wonder- 
ing if, after all, we may not be wrong. Half of this first 20 per 
cent and all of this last 10 per cent Governor Harris saved. 
After having satisfied himself that "the ends he aimed at were 
his countr)-'s and truth's," and therefore God's, and that the>' 
were practical of attainment, I doubt if irresolution ever cost the 
man five seconds of time. Andrew Jackson once said: "Take 
time to deliberate, but when the time for action comes, stop 
thinking and go in." 

The two men were in man>- respects alike, and both possessed 
this advantage over common luunanity, that they knew precisely 
and definitely what they wanted to do, and the time which others 
consumed in making up their minds what to do they spent 
in devising means to do and in doing. Goethe would have 
reverenced Isham G. Harris, because Goethe says: "I rev- 
erence the man who understands distinctly what he wishes 
to do, who unweariedly advances, who knows the means con- 
ducive to his object and can seize and use them." He also 
says truly that "the greater part of all the mischief in the 
world ari.ses from the fact that men do not know definitely their 
own aims. ' ' 



i66 Life and Charactir of /sham (i. Harris. 



HIS IMIYSICAI. HKAVhKV. 

You need not In; told that lie was brave in battle — physically 
brave. The man's devotion to the truth would have told you 
the story of his moral couraj^je, and his moral courage would 
have led you to presupjxjse his jihysical braverj-. For Waller 
Scott was right when he said, "Without courage there can not 
be truth, and without truth there can not Ijc any character. " 
As voluntary aid-de-camp to AUjert Sidney Johnston and his 
succe.s-sors in conunand of the Army of the West, this governor 
of a sovereign State delivered messages and led regiments to 
the charge at Shiloh and in every engagement of that army t(j 
the close of hostilities. You will reniemljer that he was off 
leading a Tennessee regiment into battle at a place so plowed 
with bullets that the regiment had trembled in the balance and 
sought the cover of a hill, when Albert Sidney Johnston was 
shot, and that he returned just in time to di.scover him wfunided 
and to ease him off his horse to die. 

I have said that the other trait of character which made him 
great as a leader was his confidence in the judgment of the peo- 
ple — in the common sen.se and just intentions of the connnon 
people. Even Thomas Jefferson was hardly suiierior to him in 
this respect. No man who has this denuKrratic faith well 
grounded — this abiding faith in the capacity of the people to 
understand, provided he himself have information and ideas to 
connnunicate and ability to convey them — this abiding faith in 
their intention to do the right thing, when they learn what it is, 
can have any temptation to Ix-come that vilest of all creeping, 
hi.ssing thing.s — a demagogue. Both his own mind and his con- 
cept of what is in the mind of his hearers forbid it; they give 
him, on the contrary, every cause to "be just and fear not." 
The very groundwork of the faith of such a politician is the 
doctrine that if he is right he must finally be successful, because 
the people are neither fools, to Ije permanently mi.sled, nor 
knaves, to do the wrong intentionally. 

1 will be here pardoned for telling an incident from which I 
ilerived my first les.s<jn on this subject. I was a young Ixjy, and 



Memorial Ccrcvwnics. 167 

a just-honie-frnni-collese boy at that, with a just-home-froni- 
college boy's contempt for the general intelligence. An esti- 
mable gentleman, whose real name I will not give, but whom 
I will call John Smith, was discu.ssing with Governor Harris a 
local Democratic platform recently promulgated. Governor 
H.VKKis was regretting that in order to fall in with a foolish 
and passing sentiment the platform had temporized with eco- 
nomical falsehood. The other man replied: "Yes, Governor, 
j'ou and I understand that that is all wrong, but the connnon 
people do not, and, moreover, they do not care a rap." "That 
is where you are mistaken, sir," thundered the old governor; 
"the John Smiths and the Isham G. Harrises of this world — the 
so-called 'leaders' in public life — ma}' not always be relied on to 
vote what is right, even when the)' luiderstand it, because they 
have, or perhaps may have, their own 'axes to gri«id,' private 
ambitions as well as public purposes to ser\-e; but no man who 
knows the common people would charge them with that crime. 
The)' have no axes except the public ax to .grind; no motive to 
guide them in politics except the motive to a.scertain what will 
be for ' the greatest good of the greatest ntimber, ' which is 
their own greatest good, and, having a.scertained it, to consum- 
mate it." These are almost his very words, though it is more 
than twent)- years since I heard them uttered. They are words 
of eternal truth that lead to a blessed optimism and to a restful 
confidence in the permanency and triumph of democracy! 
Words which foreshadow disappointment to the prevaleiU and 
fashionable pessimism which would despair of the Republic! 

LESSON' OF HIS LIFE. 

I began by .saying that the .spirits of men abide after them 
immortally even on this earth in the influence which has radi- 
ated from them, becoming year by year less traceable to its 
origin, but broader and broader in its concentric circles. This 
man's life will leave, has left, among you perpetual reenforce- 
ment to several great truths — reminders priceless in value right 
now. Chiefly this: That a politician need not, in order to win 
and keep the people's favor, be either a moral coward, a 



i6!S /.//(■ ami Cliaractir of I sham (i. Jlairis. 

hypocrite, or a liar; in a word, need not Ijc a demagogue — the 
epitome or hrief summary of all three. 

Vou see demagogues succeediug temporarily. Vou see a few 
of them on .small arenas succeeding for a lifetime by living a 
lifetime lie, but it is a blessed thing to know that even in the 
worst days of jxipular government no man need Ix; one of them 
and that in days of emergency no man can lie one of them and 
succeed. It is a bles-sed truth that the people hate fawners and 
flatterers — duplex characters — that they love men — strong, hon- 
est, frank, single-minded men — and that all the great leaders of 
the jxfople under jxipular goveriunents from the beginning until 
now — great leaders, I say, with the element of jjerniaueucy in 
their leadershiiJ — have been men who, like Ish.\m G. H.vrkis, 
have "learned the difficult art of telling the people the truth '" — 
not always saints — far from it. I ani .sorry Xo say; but at least 
the men with "souls of fire." who liveil the truth and hated a 
lie. 

Here was a man who would neither ' ' follow after a multitude 
to do evil," nor, on the other hand — worse fault yet and far more 
prevalent — surrender conviction while he ' ' crooked the pregnant 
hinges of the knee where thrift might follow fawning" on the 
rich and great of this world. 

Was it any wonder, then — that rare spectacle which some of 
us witnessed not many days ago in W'a.shington — that spectacle 
which told the story in a single scene of our lieing the greatest 
and mo.st remarkable people on the face of the glolje? 

Thirty years after Ism.\m G. H.\rkis had returned to his na- 
tive State from foreign lands, where he had l)een an exile with a 
price set on his head, his body laid in state in the Senate Cham- 
ber of the Capitol of the United States. The old reliel war gov- 
ernor there in his coffin! Sece.s.sion, civil war, and the bitter 
.scenes and bitterer words of a stirring life forgotten by all. 
Only his integrity and ability and courage and love for the jxro- 
ple remained! Around him stood grouped his fellow-Senators, 
among whom he had stood .so long acknowledged easily chief as 
a parliamentarian and easily an equal in .so many respects. 
Around him Senators and Representatives, and, rare if not 



Mi-i)iorial Ci'iriiioiiics. 169 

unprecedented honor, the President of the United States and 
his Cabinet. 

They did well to pay him especial and unusual honor, and 
you do well to honor his memory now and always, 

Tennessee — proud volunteer Commonwealth — second to no 
State in this broad Union in resources or in men — great in 
evers'thing which material nature can give, but greater yet 
in the memory of the achie\-emeuts of her ' ' buried warlike and 
her wise," will place him side by .side with the greatest of them 
all, nor fear a just comparison with any. 

Mr. SiJi.s. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my 
colleague. Colonel Cox, may have inserted in the Record .some 
remarks upon the life, character, and .services of the late Sena- 
ator Harris. Colonel Cox is unavoidably detained at the 
present time. 

The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. McMilliu). Several other 
members have asked the same privilege, and if there is no 
objection, permission will be given to them all. [After a pause.] 
The Chair hears no objection. 

Mr. Carmack. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous con.sent that 
I may have printed as a part of my remarks the addresses at the 
memorial services of the late Senator H.\rris at Memphis. 

The Speaker pro tempore. Is there objection to the request 
of the gentleman from Tennessee? [After a pau.se.] The 
Chair hears none. 

Mr. Richardson. Mr. Speaker, I move the adoption of the 
resolutions. 

The resolutions were adopted; and then (at 4 o'clock and 
32 minutes), in accordance with the resolutions, the House 
adjourned until Monday at 12 o'clock noor_. 



•r of Jsham (j. Harris. 



(■-■ 



Mr. C<JX. Mr. SiH.-akcr. hy tlic- kiiulne.s,s of the House, in my 
a!)sence I was ]iermitte<l to place in the Record my humble 
appreciation of the public service and usefulness to the ix:<ij)le 
of Senator Harris. 

My acquaintance with him commenced at that time of my life 
when I cast my first vote, which was for him for governor of 
Tennessee. I knew him in war and in peace. I knew him as 
a statesman and a soldier. I knew him when a friend, and un- 
derstood him when an enemy. As a man, like the most of our 
great men, he commenced with his common countrymen. 

He learned first the duty of a citizen, and then labored to ad- 
vance and protect the common welfare and liberty of his jieople. 
He was with all aksolutely frank, firm, and positive. No man 
was ever deceived by him. He decided but once on any subject, 
and then never ceased to carrj' his convictions into practical ex- 
ecution. A devoted friend, a 1x)ld, daring fighting opponent, 
his \ery make-up hated deception. His very .soul despised a 
hike- warm friend, and his very nature combated opposition. 
Avarice had no place in his nature. He si)ent his life for the 
State and died pcxir. 

No stain of dishonesty is on his record, and no treachery ever 
even suspected. Firm, decisive, resolute, able, honest, and 
brave, these were the elements of his greatness. In politics, a 
Deni(x-rat of the old .sch(x)l. The State had his afTection: aiid 
as a protector of the rights of the States he stood at the front 
in all his public career. As a Democrat, he adhered to the 
strictest economy, and left as far as possible the individual li> 
govern himself and to l>e individually resjxmsible for his own 



Address of Mr. Cox of Tennessee. 171 

conduct. Every right under the law was equal with him: every 
protection given b)- law should operate for all alike. 

No fear of the mighty and great; no oppressing the poor and 
needy. The public funds under his control were sacred for the 
objects intended. The demoralization of war and disruption of 
society had no effect on his integrity. He defended the funds 
of the people from thieves and marauders in time of peace, and 
in time of war carried the sacred funds of our common schools 
through camps, battles, and marches; and, although an exile 
himself, with a price set on his head, he returned every dollar 
to its place without the lo.ss of a cent. What a contrast with 
the thieves who seized it after such honesty and stole the entire 
trust from our children! Indeed, such honesty as Senator 
Harris displayed is noble and grand. 

I knew him in war. The first conimi.ssion I ever held in the 
array was signed by him. I saw him a commander in chief of 
Tennessee soldiers. Uneducated in military affairs, \et he 
seemed to grasp the full and extended scope of his duties. 
Kind yet firm with his troops, they loved him. Without fear, 
they admired him, and, full of energy and .self-control, he won 
justly for himself the great title of ' ' war governor of the South. 

What a scene it was when this great governor lifted from his 
horse the dying genius of war, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, 
whom President Davis pronounced the greatest of all his gen- 
erals, at the terrible battle of Shiloh. I have often heard the 
old Senator talk of this incident, and it seemed to arouse every 
emotion in his true, honest soul. 

A volume could be written of interesting epi.sodes in his life — 
his conte.st for governor with John Netherland. The good 
joker, genial humorist, was a power on the stump. The keen, 
decisive logic and clear expression of thought Harris had were 
equal to the occa.sion. 



ij2 Life and Charailcr of Isham G, Harris. 

He foinul in Kol)t;rt Halton a conipelilor worthy of any man. 
Logical, learned, generous, and brave, he was ready for the 
lance of his ajmijetitor. Senator H.vrkis always regardetl Hat- 
ton as the strongest coniiH;titor he ever met. Both are gone. 
General Hatton fell on the field of battle and rests with the 
dead who fell in a cause he and Senator H.\rris loved so much. 

Tennessee is proud of her sons, and she has Ijeen fortunate in 
the honor her sfjns have reflected on her name. 

She has had her warriors as renowned as any this great Re- 
public ever produced, and the world cati not show an>- greater 
soldiers. Tennessee has furnished the United States many ora- 
tors and statesmen. Their history is woven into the history of 
our connnon country. Amon^ all the.se the late Senator H.\rkis 
forced him.self to the front. No man jirobably lived in Ten- 
nessee who more eflfectualh' impressed his views upon our peojile, 
and did so for their own good. He will not die. He will live 
in spite of death; his great efforts will tell on children yet 
uni)orn, and his virtues live as long as we have a record. 

No man coniiiianded more respect in the United States Senate 
tlian did Senator H.xrkis. No Senator could mi.sunderstand 
him, and he was acknowledged to l)e the l)est presiding officer 
of that Ixxly. 

W'e were engaged in this House.- in paying respect to another 
sterling old-school Democrat, Judge Holman, who had Ijeen 
taken away. His praise was being sounded by true friends, and 
almost in hearing of the .same the spirit of Senator Isn.\M 
Gkkkn H.vrris took its eternal flight. Two great men! Two 
good men' Two honest men, and as noble Democrats as ever 
defended the doctrine of the party! 

I pray that in our country's history and in the defense of 
republican institutions young men may ri.se as loyal to duty and 
as devoted to countrv as the late Senator H.vrris. 



Address of Mr. King of Utah. 173 



ADDRESS OF MR. KING. 

Mr. King. Mr. Speaker, as a representative of the youngest 
State in the Union I feel honored in having this opporttniity of 
testifying to the greatness of Senator Harris. The last star 
added to the constellation forming our imperishable Union .shines 
this day with subdued lu.ster and its citizens join in the univer- 
sal grief expressed by the people of the United States as the 
memorial services of this repre.sentative body recall the death of 
a great American and the heroic life of one who, though dead, 
so entwined himself in the woof and warp of our national exist- 
ence that he still lives. 

The American people are not hero worshipers, but they are 
proud of the achievements of their countrymen, and follow with 
eager and anxious gaze those who n:a\' climlj the dizzy heights 
that mark the way to glory and immortality. While the 
American people love the State which gives them birth, they 
regard with interest and affection persons from diiTerent sections 
who have been important factors in the country's growth, and 
who, by their illustrious li\-es, have brought renown not only to 
native State but to States united. The\- are jealous of their 
States and everything affecting the latter' s welfare, but all lines 
are forgotten in the fellowship extended to those whose genius 
and worth have raised them to commanding heights. 

The American who adds glory to Tennessee, or Maine, or 
California, and whose place of birth, because of valorous deeds, 
becomes a sacred spot, bequeaths an inheritance to every State 
and a patrimony to all his countrymen. The aifectionate regard 
which comes to one ( whose achievements have made him illtis- 
triousj from the citizens of his State becomes the fotmtain of 



174 f-'f'' ("Iff Character of hliani (',. Harris. 

till.- iiiij(hty stream, fed from every section, which s\vee])s on in 
its resistless course freighted with tlie loyal devotion of the citi- 
zens of the Republic. So I feel that the life and fame of Isham 
Ci. Hakkis tjelonged not to Tennessee alone, Init in part to the 
State from which I come, though the Stars and Stripes was nut 
its ensijjn until years after he had l)een given to our country. 

My personal acquaintance with Senator Harris was limited. 
I met him but a few times, but in those few meetings I learned 
something of his greatness and n.any of his virtues. I met hiiu 
for the first time in this building, during the winter of 1891-92. 
A mea.sure was then jiending in Congress aiming at the disfran- 
chisement of my coreligionists. To protest against its enact- 
ment was the purpose of my visit here. He listenetl to the 
importunities that he inter]X)se to avert the impending danger. 
He regarded the pro]X)sition as repugnant, and declared that no 
American citi/.en should suffer the pains and jjenalties of disfran- 
chisement if he could prevent it. 

The constitutional asjK'Ct of the case was dwelt uiKin by hini 
with remarkable clearness. This and other questions invo!\nng 
constitutional limitations and the domain of the Federal Gov- 
erinnenl were di.scussed by him in that incisive, epigrammatic, 
resistless manner which made him so powerful an ally and so 
formidable a foe. He was devoted to the Constitution. It was 
the anchor to his political career. 

Every governmental mea.sure and political question was de- 
termined !)>• it. To him it was a living oracle. It was a .sacred 
Ark of the Covenant, not to be profaned by impious hands. A 
])erfunclory allegiance was not yielded by him to the sacred 
principles wliich it guarded. Freedom and con.stitutional gov- 
ernment, the dream of martyrs and patriots of the past, had lieen 
realized, he felt, in the Republic founded by our fathers. 

The preservation of this inestimable bles,sing was regarded by 



Address of Mr. King of Utah. 175 

him as the chief object of Ufe. If he had a creed, it was written 
by Jefferson, and its articles pre.scribed, not by a council of theo- 
logians, but that immortal one over whose solemn deliberations 
presided Washington, the greatest American. They were to 
him a constant source of inspiration, and his political footsteps 
he sought to guide 1)y their overshadowing light. 

He denied the oft-reiterated charge that there can be no 
national growth and progress if the Constitution of the United 
States is invoked against policies and measures approved and 
championed by the people, and for the enforcement of which 
an apparent neces-sity exists. He saw the perilous seas upon 
which nations ha\-e been wrecked and the dangerous channels 
which governments have threaded. The lesson which histor\- 
teaches, that the efforts of patriots have been to establish gov- 
ernments limiting the power of those who govern and to pre\'ent 
oppressions born of tyrannous' de.sires of the htunan heart, was 
learned by him early in life. 

The Constitution was his chart and his compass; not his 
alone, but the nation's; and he felt that there could be na- 
tional safetj' and liberty perpetuated only so long as the ship 
of state inflexibly and undeviatingly followed that course pointed 
by the chart and compass. Progre.ss to him was only made when 
the path of safety was followed. A prosperous, progressive, 
puissant country he believed could only be realized by battering 
down the obstructions interposed by bureaucracy and con- 
centrated power and wealth; and the debris of monarchical 
institutions and the barriers, restrictions, and manacles which 
result from centralized power must be cleared away with 
invincible courage before the hosts of freedom can march on to 
victorious conquests in the political, industrial, and intellectual 
domains. 

Progre.ss and national srrowth did not mean to him national 



1/6 Life and Cliaracltr of Isliaiu (,. //tin if. 

ix)\ver and national sunx-illance of the individual conduct. These 
were the cloaks under which the id^'ves of servitude were fastened 
ujxjn the people. He was conservative in that he desired the 
triumph of natural law and the avoidance of the dangers which 
had destroyed nations. He was progressive in recognizing that 
there is a power in man which leads by evolutionary methods to 
higher activities and. when unlrammeled by unnatural laws and 
improper legislation, i)ropels stales and 7)eoples with giant strides 
from darkne.ss into increasing light, from industrial, jxiliiical, 
and ecclesiastical .ser\-itude into that jierfect day of freedom 
where the mind and Ijody and soul jx),s.se.ss the fruition of all 
labors. 

He Ix'lieved that political emancipation and industrial develop- 
ment result not from laws and statutes and penal provisions and 
courts and judges, but flow from that government which makes 
each man a .sovereign and stretches forth its hand only to re- 
press the lawless and restrain the vicious. That is not the 
progre.ssive nation which controls every utility, legi.slates to 
direct every activity, and intrudes itselT into every path and 
avenue and into every heart and brain. That is the progre.'vsive 
nation which ixjints to the great luiexplored and inexhaustible 
fields of truth, of knowledge, of wealth, and bids each person 
godspeed in the effort ( unre.strained and unrestricted so long as 
the right of each to continue the race is not invaded ) to enrich 
himself from the illimitable products of a lx)unteous harvest. 

There was no dissinuilation in his nature. Something of 
Washington's .seriousness and Jackson's detennination were 
revealed iu his life. He had Dr. Johnson's bluntne.ss, though 
not his cynicism. He only traveled one roatl at a time. He 
never attemjjted two victories sinuiltaneously. He asked no 
quarter a)ul gave none, but was generous to a vanfjuished foe 
and loval to everv friend. He never reasoned in a circle. 



Address of Mr. King of UtaJi. 177 

There was onh' one way between given points, and that was 
the shortest wa}-. There was nothing of compromise in his 
character. With him there could be no bartering of principle, 
no trafficking in truth. No doubt ever exi.sted as to his posi- 
tion upon every public que.stion. He had the sincerity of Crom- 
well, without the latter's devoutness. 

Measured by Carlyle's standard of what constitutes greatness, 
Senator Harris was transcendently great. Sinceritj-, Carh-le 
declares, is the chief fact about a man. That person is truh- 
great who sincerely, earnestly, faithfully lives his life no matter 
his calling or station, no matter what the world may say of 
him. If to him life has a meaning, a duty, an overwhelming 
responsibility, and with unfaltering courage he sincerely strives 
to perform it, his life l^ecomes an epic, and though spurned by 
or unknown of the world, that life is a divine contribution to 
the uplifting of humanity. 

Though unknown to the world, the example of his life is 
more than a sweet perfinne, .stealing into the materialism of our 
lives, a benediction that brings peace to rebellious hearts; it is 
a potential force acting upon the very groundwork of society 
for the advancement of the human family. But few men may 
kuow of him; his fame ma\- die when he dies; but, neverthe- 
less, measured in the great scales of the Divine One, he is a 
great man. 

The great men of the world, those who have moved nations 
and have been potential for good, were those who were sincere, 
who earnestly struggled for the triumph of the principles which 
they represented. It were better to be mistaken, it were better 
to fall oftentimes and to stumble haltingly by the way tmtil 
renewed strength and courage be gathered, and, Antceus-like, 
rise from the earth to fi.ght on for what the heart and conscience 
demand, than to be so purposeless and forceless as to passively 
S. Doc. 343 12 



17'^ /-//' "'"'' Cliaractcr of I sham U. Jhirns. 

witness life's saiiKuinary conflict. Some men are so vacillating 
that they accomplish nothing; others so innncible in their pur- 
]Kjses that they seem like a Nemesis. 

They are like the storm; and the stupendous forces of nature 
seem to be raging in and alxjut them. Like the ruggetl clifTs. 
with bared heads they meet the temjxj.st's roars, and are un- 
shaken by the storms upon life's ocean. 

Such a man was Isham G. Harris. He was a .sincere, force- 
ful, irresistilile man. He was sincere, rugged, hone.st; when- 
ever he lx;lieved anything to be right, he tirele.s.sly and 
courageously walked in that pathway until he had achieved 
that which his conscience demanded of him. 

There is only one djiiasty, and that is the dynasty of geniu.s — 
the d>-nasty of gjeat men. Dynasties of men i>ass away, the lin- 
eage is destroyed, and the links in the great chain are broken; 
but the dynasty of great men will live on so long as this world 
moves, and in that dynasty will be found the name of Ishajj 
G. Harris. Only a few men can tread the glittering heights 
that lead to success; and .some of us lx;low. gazing aloft at the 
perilous heights which great men .scale, oftentimes are timid 
lest they fall from precipices to destruction. 

But where genius, honesty, and sincerity control there is no 
misstep, no faltering. He goes on, passing from the clouds to 
the heights beyond, where, if we can gaze with undinuned 
vision, we see him .standing like a proud, glorious archangel in 
the hea\-ens above. We know that he who .surpasses or sub- 
dues mankind must look down on the hate of them l)elow. 
IsH.\M G. Harris pierced the clouds and reached the sunmiit 
of greatness. 

He exemplified the fact tliat greatness does not come from a 
great name, nor is it a legacy which man can lx;queath. ' It is 
inherent. It comes from lieyond. It develops not in the midst 



Address ofMi. King of L'tak. 179 

of affluent circumstances, btit upon the hard rock of want, of 
penury, and of necessity. The hothouse plant does not thrive 
when it comes in contact with the rtide forces of this earth. 
IsH.\M G. Harris was not a hothouse plant. He had dwelt 
amidst the forces of the forest and the mountains, and had ab- 
sorbed strength from the virgin forest and the rugged heights, 
like the giant, gnarled oak with its roots penetrating deep into 
the -soil, gathering strength by the rude shocks encountered. 
Such a man was Ish.a.m G. H.\rris. This is as I read him and 
as I knew him. 

I remember a few years ago the circumstance referred to by 
my distinguished friend from Missouri, when, especially in the 
West, the Democrats were concerned lest the party, partially 
wrecked bj- those who had accepted the views of the Republican 
party upon financial questions, would continue under their 
leadership until demoralization, if not destruction, of the party 
would ensue; but when it was announced that Ish.\ji G. Harris 
liad called a convention in the city of Memphis, and that he 
had placed himself at the head of a movement to rescue the 
Democratic party from the dangers which were menacing it, 
we all felt that a new era was dawuiug and that the Democratic 
party would rise from its lethargic slumber, and, shaking its 
invincible locks, would scatter its foes as the lion disperses its 
assailants. We felt that Isham G. H.\rris, with his honesty, 
his force, his sincerity, and his devotion to the principles of the 
great party of JefTerson, woidd lead it out of the paths of dan- 
ger, and that under his guidance it could know no defeat, but 
would go on and accomplish the great work which had been 
committed to its hands. 

And that is the way that the people of the \Ve.st felt. And 
so the name of Isham G. H.vrris is not confined to Tennessee 
or to the East; but the youngest State of the Union learned of 



i8o Life and Characlcr oj /s/mni G. /Jarris. 

his fame, of his glory, aud to-day testifies to his matchless worth 
and his splendid achievements. 

Mr. Speaker, Ish.vm G. H.^kkis is not dead: his inlluence 
lives, and for gootl. 

There is no death; the stars jjo down. ■ 

To rise upon sonic fairer shore; 
And brijjht in heaven's jeweled crown 

They shine forevenuore. 



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